GUWAHATI:
The death toll due to folds in Assam has mounted to 10, with one more death reported on May 19, after incessant rains raged havoc across the state, damaging cropland and displacing lakhs of people.
According to a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), as many as 7.17 lakh people have been affected in the first wave of floods that has hit 29 districts in the state.
The report said that the floodwaters have inundated 1,790 villages under 75 revenue circles of the state, affecting about 7,17,588 people, and damaging 6,3970.62 hectares of cropland, the ASDMA said.
Nagaon is the worst-hit district where 2.88 lakh people and 147 villages are reeling under water, followed by Cachar and Hojai where 1.2 lakh people 1.07 lakh people have been affected respectively.
The other affected districts are Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Hailakandi, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong West, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur and Udalguri.
Besides damages to crop and property, massive erosion have also been reported from Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts of the state, with the government involving all its resources to prevent further damage.
Amidst the deluge, authorities in the state are running 359 relief camps and 192 relief distribution centres in 14 districts, where 39,689 people, including 118 children, have taken refuge. They have distributed 2, 5684.71 quintals of rice, 064.48 quintals of dal, 328.37 quintals of salt, 6020.90 litres of mustard oil and other flood relief items.
On the other hand, the Indian Army, paramilitary forces, NDRF, SDRF, civil administration, trained volunteers, fire and emergency services and local people involved in the rescue mission have evacuated 8,066 persons from various flood-hit parts of the state by deploying boats and helicopters.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) which has already suspended all trains through Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section to Barak Valley, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, has informed that it will take more than 45 days for the railways to restore the rail link between Lumding and Badarpur as there has been damage of tracks in more than 58 locations snapping railway connectivity in the southern part of the Northeast.
“Railway has put all its efforts in restoring the damaged line and re-starting the train services to South Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. Restoration work has already been completed at about 12 locations, and in these difficult conditions,” an NF Railway spokesperson said.
“Railway initiated restoration by mobilising men, material and machinery led by the railway’s skilled team of engineers, officers and staff. Efforts are to assist the movement of railway staff to reach out to the affected areas so that restoration work can be completed in the least possible time. A technical team which has been deployed for quick restoration of this section is well versed with the terrain and is capable to work in these demanding conditions of the Northeast,” the spokesperson added.
On Thursday, state ministers Jogen Mohan and Bimal Bora reached Haflong to take stock of the relief operations and ministers assessed the damaged road and the progress of the restoration in several spots like in P Leikul near CJM Court.
“We are prioritising restoration road connectivity between Lumding-Maibang-Mahur-Jatinga to Haflong which is a lifeline for the people of Dima Hasao. We have managed to restore the road connecting from Lumding to Haflong temporarily for light traffic movement even as the rain is causing the handle to clear the soil and debris,” Mohan told the press.