PIX: Floods wreck havoc in Assam; 55,000 homeless

The flash floods triggered by swirling waters of Gai-Nadi and Jiadhal rivers have left a trail of devastation in Dhemaji district of eastern Assam.

The floods claimed at least five lives in the district as per bodies recovered so far, while thousands have been rendered homeless.

Several persons have remained untraced so far. At least seven deaths have been reported from three flood-hit districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur since August 15.

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Surface communication to the district was snapped with flood waters sweeping away a portion of NH 52 and the meter gauge railway track passing through the district.

The administration had to requisition service of Indian Air Force choppers to evacuate marooned people in remote parts of the district.

According to official statistics, about 8,000 people have taken shelter in government-run relief camps.

With the administration trying hard to provide succour to the flood-hit, various non-government organisations including All Assam Students Union, Asom Jatyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad, Takam Mising Porin Kebang, authorities of various educational institutions in the district have chipped in by providing relief materials like food, cloth to the flood-hit.

Paucity of drinking water and baby food has also hit the affected hard.

The IAF choppers helped rescue Dhemaji over 200 persons from the villages that were suddenly inundated due to flash floods of the Gai-nadi and several other smaller rivers.

Over 55,000 people have been hit hard by the flash floods that have caused extensive and irreparable damage to crop land.

The devastation broke loose on August 15 when swirling Gai-nadi, that flows down from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam plains, through Dhemaji district suddenly changed course in the morning hours near Sisiborgaon and washed away several houses after causing a major breach to the NH 52 as well as the Rangiya-Murkongselek metre gauge railway track.

Though communication to Dhemaji town has somewhat been restored by plugging the breached portion of NH 52 at Samarajan, the road connecting Dhemaji town and border town of Jonai has remained snapped for the fourth day on Thursday.

Meanwhile, flood waters of Jiadhal River caused similar havoc in the western part of Dhemaji district affecting over 65 villages causing untold hardship to thousands of affected people who have been forced to live along with their livestock in a stinking environment.

The surface communication in the area has been totally devastated with flood waters causing extensive damage to road network. Over 300 hectares of crop land has been inundated and standing crops were damaged.

The flood also created havoc in parts of neighbouring Lakhimpur and Sonitpur districts driving people out of their inundated homes in scores and damaging standing crop on hundreds of hectares of land. The flood has claimed two lives in Lakhimpur district as well.