India, July 21 -- The flood situation in Assam worsened on Monday, with nearly 3.63 lakh people affected across 15 districts and five more persons losing their lives, as the Army joined state agencies in rescue operations amid incessant rain. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said two men and two girls drowned in floodwaters in Jorhat district, while another person died in Karbi Anglong district. Besides, one person each was reported missing in Charaideo and Karbi Anglong districts. With these fatalities, the total number of deaths in this year's floods has increased to 10, the ASDMA said.
More than 3,62,900 people have been affected in Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts, it said. Sivasagar is the worst-hit district, with nearly 1.58 lakh people affected, followed by Charaideo with around 1.05 lakh and Jorhat with about 51,000 people reeling under floodwaters, it added. With the situation worsening, Army personnel have been deployed in Upper Assam to assist the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services and district authorities in rescue and relief operations, officials said.
According to the ASDMA, nearly 7,000 people have been rescued from Charaideo, Golaghat, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong and Nagaon. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said four cabinet ministers have been stationed in the affected districts to supervise relief measures, while MPs and MLAs from the flood-hit areas have also been asked to remain on the ground. According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), 510 people have so far been rescued in Sivasagar by the SDRF and Fire and Emergency Services, with Army helicopters and additional boats deployed to reach marooned residents in inaccessible areas. In neighbouring Charaideo, teams of the Army, NDRF and SDRF have been deployed in the worst-affected locations to carry out rescue operations and distribute relief. The floods have also severely disrupted rail services in the region. Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said train movement in the Simaluguri-Namtiali and Simaluguri-Selenghat sections has been suspended after floodwaters from the overflowing Dikhow river inundated the Simaluguri station yard, railway colony and tracks.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.