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)

Administration will fire at anyone who resorts to arson and violence: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati: With the death toll in the Assam clashes reaching almost 80, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said, "Administration will fire at anyone who resorts to arson and violence." Mr Gogoi's warning came after five more people were killed on Saturday in Chirang district of Assam. They were reportedly coming from a relief camp to buy groceries.

Police said that the bodies were recovered from a paddy field in Choudhuripara near Mangolian Bazar in the district.

Inspector General of Police (Bodoland Territorial Areas District) SN Singh said that the bodies were recovered after local residents informed police. The deceased were yet to be identified, he said.

"Suspected miscreants must have killed the five people during the day and hidden their bodies in a paddy field in the area," he said.

Following the killings, the area is tense and a curfew has been imposed.

Almost 80 people have died in the last one month in ethnic violence in parts of lower Assam between the indigenous Bodo tribals and Muslim settlers.

Over two thousand people, who fled their villages in fear owing to the clashes, have been living in relief camps in the state.

(With IANS inputs)

Assam in the grip of floods again, over one lakh affected

Guwahati: Assam is in the grip of the third wave of floods with the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries rising in four districts of Assam following incessant rains.

Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas during the last few days has led the water level of the rivers to rise in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sonitpur and Kamrup, with vast areas of human habitation and cropland inundated, official sources said in Guwahati.

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat, the Jia Bhoroli in Sonitpur, Gai Nadi in Dhemaji and Singora in Lakhimpur districts.

An estimated one lakh people have been affected in 82 villages and the administration in these districts have been directed to provide necessary relief and rehabilitation to the victims.

There has been, however, no loss of human life so far, the sources said.

In Golaghat, two breaches have been reported in Kakodanga river and a post of a bridge has been damaged in Gelabil-Selseli river.

In the worst-ever flood to hit the state during the last decade, 126 people lost their lives this year during the first and second wave of the deluge while 631 animals perished in Kaziranga National Park alone.