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)

No end to water protest in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: In Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa area, 51 people stayed immersed in water for the 13th day today in what's being called a 'jal satyagraha'. The protestors are demanding compensation and rehabilitation for villagers whose homes will be submerged under water after the state government's order of opening all the gates of the Omkareshwar dam in Madhya Pradesh.

With Narmada flowing above the danger levels, the government has little choice. However, the protestors, members of the 'Narmada Bachao Andolan', say the government's decision to increase the water level of the Omkareshwar on the Narmada without rehabilitating people living in low lying villages is a violation of a Supreme Court order, which says villagers must be rehabilitated at least six months before such a move is implemented.

"Till the time water level comes down to 189 and as per court orders, we get the 5 acre land. And labourers get Rs. 2.5 lakh. Till that time even if we die, we will sit here," said one of the 51 protestors at Madhya Pradesh's Ghogal village, who have been sitting in water for the past 13 days.

"In the water, fishes and crabs are biting us, our skin is affected and it is raining also," said a protestor.

However, despite the deteriorating health of the protestors, the government has so far offered no medical help. No one from the local administration has visited the spot of the protest.

The water of the Omkareshwar dam has already risen to 190.5 meters and its effects can been seen in Ghogal, Kaamankheda and 28 other villages, where crops have been damaged. 

Delhi rains: Roads to avoid

New Delhi: The Delhi Traffic Police has been updating their Facebook and Twitter page with latest traffic snarls due to rain in the city.

According to them, these are the roads to avoid

• Due to heavy water logging under railway bridge Pul Pahladpur at Badarpur border, traffic has been diverted from Lal kuan to Maa Anand Mayee Marg on MB road. Motorist can take Suraj kund road and Karni singh shooting range also.
• Traffic movement is slow at Wazirpur industrial area, central market, Ashok vihar due to pot holes.
• Traffic movement is slow at D.C office Mehrauli- Badarpur road and Saidulabad village due to water logging.
• Traffic movement is slow from Ashram Chowk to Hari Nagar, CRRI to Ashram,Pul Pahladpur, D.C office M.B. road, IIT crossing to Adhchini, Yusuf Sarai market, outer ring road under Munirka flyover due to water logging. 
  
• Traffic is badly affected due to wide & deep potholes under Apollo & Sarita Vihar metro station on Mathura road & its service road in the carriageway going from Badarpur to Ashram.
• Traffic movement is slow at Andrews Ganj ring road, under Lodhi flyover Lala Lajpat Rai marg, Mahipalpur chowk, Rao Tula Ram marg in front of Shani Mandir due to water logging.

Four dead after heavy rains in Jaipur

Jaipur: Four people have died in a torrential downpour in Jaipur. Two children were killed in a wall collapse due to the heavy rains in the city and two adults were also swept away.

Heavy rains since Tuesday night have led to water logging in many parts of the city, especially the low-lying areas.

After orders from the Collector, schools have been closed for Wednesday. All anganwadi centres are also closed.

Rescue teams are going through the city to check if anybody is marooned in the rains.