Flood situation in Assam worsens, over 6.5 lakh hit

The flood situation in Assam worsened on Saturday with four more deaths reported and over 6.5 lakh people being affected in more than 1,400 villages due to incessant rains across the state.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority said in its flood report that two persons drowned on National Highway-31 under Bilasipara revenue circle in Dhubri district.

Two more persons lost their lives in Kokrajhar in the last 24 hours, it added.

With this, the death toll in this year's flood in Assam has gone up to 12 -- four in Kokrajhar, two each in Lakhimpur and Dhubri, and one each in Bongaigaon, Baksa, Sonitpur and Chirang.

ASDMA said over 6.55 lakh persons are affected in 1,417 villages across Dhemaji, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Jorhat, Goalpara, Morigaon, Dhubri, Kamrup, Golaghat and Darrang districts.

Till Friday, over 5.76 lakh people were reeling under swirling flood waters across 1,071 villages in 19 districts across the state.

The worst hit is Bongaigaon district with over 1.68 lakh persons affected, followed by Kokrajhar with more than 1.64 lakh people bearing the brunt, ASDMA said.

Kamrup Metropolitan district administration has suspended all ferry and boat services in Guwahati due to rising water level of Brahmaputra, which has already crossed the danger mark in the state capital.

More than 57,500 hectares of crop areas are under water currently, the report mentioned.

Authorities have opened 270 relief camps in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Goalpara and Dhubri, where more than 1.8 lakh persons are sheltered.

At present, Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger marks at Nematighat in Jorhat district, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Guwahati and Dhubri town, ASDMA said.

Besides, Burhidehing at Khowang in Dibrugarh, Jia Bharali at NT Road crossing in Sonitpur, Puthimari at NH Road crossing in Kamrup, Beki at Road Bridge in Barpeta, Sankosh at Golokganj in Dhubri, Katakhal at Matizuri in Hailakandi and Kushiyara at Karimganj town are also flowing above the danger marks, it added.

The flood waters have damaged at least 54 roads in Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Golaghat, Dibrugarh and Bongaigaon, while five bridges were damaged in Barpeta and Dibrugarh.

Image: A woman, carrying her kid, uses a bamboo bridge to commute in a flood-hit village at Teok. Photograph: PTI Photo