Half of Assam under water, 18 dead, Gogoi tours Japan

Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam continues to be grim with over half of its 27 districts inundated, 18 people killed and more than 17 lakh affected, officials said on Tuesday.

A total of 1,916 villages under 69 revenue circles in the districts of Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts have been affected by the flood, a government report on Tuesday evening said.

"Out of 27 districts of Assam, 16 are under the flood now. However, the situation has become steady now and we hope the situation will start improving in a day or two," State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) CEO Atul Chaturvedi told IANS.

"The predictions of Central Water Commission (CWC) as well as the meteorological department also indicated an improvement in weather soon," he added.


Officials at the SDMA control room said that 18 people have died so far due to the current wave of floods. However, many more people are reported to be missing in the affected districts, they said.

The worst affected is Majuli island - Asia's largest freshwater river island - with about 70 per cent of its land area submerged. Thousands of people are living in relief camps set up by the district administration. All the educational institutions in Majuli were closed down due to the floods.

Sadia subdivision in Tinsukia town also bore the fury of the flood forcing the administration to use Indian Air Force and army helicopters to air drop food materials for the affected people. District administration officials said over 80 per cent of the landmass in Sadia remained under water till Tuesday.

Over 3.84 lakh people have taken shelter at 166 relief camps set up by the districts administrations.

The Brahmaputra, Burhidehing, Subansiri, Dhansiri and the Jia Bharali rivers are flowing above the danger levels at many places.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is in Japan on a study tour organised by the Centre, on Monday directed the administration to use helicopters and mechanised boats to step up rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit state. Mr Gogoi is expected to return from the tour today.

The National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the army and the IAF are engaged in rescue and relief operations.

Parts of National Highway 52, which connects Dhemaji in Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, has come under flood waters and there are fears of scarcity of food and other materials in the district.

Assam's main city Guwahati also came under threat of floods and many areas of Pandu and Adabari areas are submerged.

Over 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park remained under flood water and over 10 animals died in the park due to floods. Poachers also took advantage of the floods and killed a one-horned rhino and managed to decamp with the horn.

Although vast areas of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district and Dibru Choikhowa National Park in Tinsukia district also were submerged by floods, no animal death has been reported from there till Tuesday.

(With IANS input)

Air Force turns down Rahul Gandhi's request

Kokrajhar (Assam): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was today forced to change his travel plans as the Indian Air Force (IAF) did not oblige to his request for flying him from Kokrajhar to Guwahati, citing bad weather.

Mr Gandhi was on a day's trip to Assam to meet victims of ethnic violence in relief camps and held discussions with Bodoland Territorial Council leaders on the prevailing situation in the state.

While travelling back to Guwahati with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, he was denied permission by the IAF officials to take off due to the bad weather, sources said.

An IAF spokesperson in New Delhi confirmed that Mr Gandhi had wanted to fly to Guwahati urgently for a meeting there but due to bad weather prevailing en route and at the destination, the permission was not given.

During the visit, Mr Gandhi met relief camp inmates and also held discussions with leaders from the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) as well as representatives of other civil organisations in the district regarding the prevailing situation along with relief and rehabilitation being provided to the affected people.

He was accompanied by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhubaneswar Kalita. 

From: NDTV

Assam violence: One killed in firing in Kokrajhar; bandh called by students' union today

Kokrajhar:  One person has died and five others have been injured in fresh violence in the Kokrajhar district of Assam. The area has been the epicentre of an ethnic flare-up that has ravaged the state in the last one month, claiming over 90 lives and leaving lakhs displaced.

Here are the latest developments in the story:

1. Four incidents of firing were reported from the Kokrajhar district in lower Assam last night. While one was killed in Bhumki in the Salakati town, four others were injured in the Pakritol village after unidentified gunmen opened fire. Another person was also reported to have sustained injuries in Gossaigaon.
2. The All Assam Minority Students' Union has called for a bandh in the state today to protest against the ongoing violence in the region. This comes just a day after lower Assam was paralysed following a 12-hour bandh called by the Bajrang Dal. Supporters burnt tyres and pelted stones at vehicles in different parts of the state following which the police took nearly 500 of them into preventive custody say sources.  Schools, colleges and educational institutions, commercial and business establishments, financial institutions remained closed with attendance in government offices thin.
3. With sporadic incidents of violence still occurring, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has promised strict action against the culprits, adding that the clashes have "defamed Assam internationally." "Whosoever is involved in the violence will be punished...All guilty will be punished," Mr Shinde said.
4. The Centre has also asked the local administration to form a coordination committee to restore peace in the violence-hit areas as early as possible. "The need of the hour is to restore peace in the region and urge people in relief camps to go back to their homes; this is what I have told them," Mr Shinde said.
5. Last night's violence comes after five people were killed in Chirang district on Saturday when they had reportedly stepped out of a relief camp in Amguri to buy groceries. 23 companies of paramilitary forces and the police along with three columns of the Army have been stationed in Chirang.
6. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has already ordered authorities to crackdown on trouble-makers. "The administration will fire at anyone who resorts to arson and violence," Mr Gogoi said on Sunday. He has also sent six of his ministers to tour the tense lower Assam region and ensure that the situation is brought under control.
7. 2.39 lakh people are still displaced. In Chirang, 40,000 people are living in 22 relief camps.
8. Over 90 people have died in over a month in ethnic violence in parts of lower Assam between the indigenous Bodo tribals and Muslim settlers.
9. The riots in the state even spilled over to Mumbai, where a protest at Azad Maidan spun out of control on August 11. Two people were killed and 55 others, including 45 policemen, were injured in the riot. Several women cops were allegedly molested.
10. The strife in Assam also led to a fear psychosis among people from the North-East living in cities like Bangalore and Pune. Thousands of them left the cities after hate messages and morphed images were circulated through mobile phones and social networking sites showing the targeting of people from the region. The Karnataka government has been urging the north-eastern community to come back, assuring them that the city is 'safe'.

(With inputs from PTI)