New Delhi, June 29 -- Heavy rains continued to wreak havoc across the northeastern states on Monday, washing away roads and bridges, disrupting connectivity and affecting thousands of people. While normal life remained disrupted in at least 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, nearly 16,000 people were affected by floods in Assam's Dhemaji district.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the floods have affected 69 villages across four revenue circles in Dhemaji district. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was closely monitoring the situation. "Since the flood situation has unfolded in Dhemaji, I've been closely monitoring the situation. We are deeply saddened by the impact it has had on the lives of our people and in this difficult time, we firmly stand with them," he said in a post on X.
In Arunachal Pradesh, rescue and relief operations continued in several districts as floods and landslides damaged roads, bridges and houses.
In Lower Dibang Valley district, four people stranded on an island in the Sisiri River in Dambuk were rescued by an Indian Air Force helicopter on Monday. Heavy rainfall also caused extensive damage to the Roing-Anini road, with flash floods washing away roads and bridges at several locations.
In Anjaw district, an excavator operator was feared dead after a massive boulder crushed the vehicle engaged in highway construction near Sarti village on Sunday night. Rescue operations, which were suspended overnight due to poor visibility and the threat of further rockfalls, resumed on Monday morning. The operator's condition was yet to be officially confirmed.
The IMD said exceptionally heavy rainfall of 39 cm was recorded at isolated places in Meghalaya, while extremely heavy rainfall of 21 cm or more was reported from isolated areas of Sub-Himalayan West Bengal.
Meanwhile, flash floods also hit Himachal Pradesh's tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, forcing the closure of the Manali-Leh highway and cutting off around a dozen villages from the district headquarters.
Officials said the highway was blocked following a flash flood near Jispa, while several villages became inaccessible after flooding in the Jhalma nallah. Locals said rising water levels caused by melting snow on mountain peaks led to the flooding. The Jobrang bridge, a crucial link to remote areas of the district, was submerged, while debris brought by floodwaters blocked roads leading to Keylong.
Officials said the BRO's 70 RCC unit was working through the night with heavy machinery to restore traffic movement on the Manali-Leh highway.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.