GUWAHATI: Flood situation in Assam remains grim due to rising water level of Brahmaputra and Barak rivers inundating fresh areas of the state and affecting over 55 lakh people in 32 districts. The officials gave this information on Wednesday (June 22). He said that 89 people have died due to two floods since mid-May. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa went to Nagaon by train to review the situation in flood-hit areas in Sarma district, officials said, adding that he also has a plan to visit some relief camps there. Nagaon has been badly hit by the current wave of floods, in which over 4,57,381 people have been affected by the floods and 15,188 people have taken shelter in 147 relief camps.
“Took a train journey from Guwahati to the flood-affected areas in Chaparmukh and Kampur. The journey enabled me to take a closer look at the flood-ravaged areas along the railway tracks, which would help us take informed decisions and intervene accordingly, Sarma said on Twitter.
Train travel from Guwahati to flood affected areas in Chaparmukh and Kampur.
This visit enabled me to take a closer look at the flood-ravaged areas along the railway tracks, which would help us make informed decisions and intervene accordingly. pic.twitter.com/j98TFVnaEK
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) 22 June 2022
He said that since the flood waters of Kopili have inundated large areas of Nagaon district, necessary steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such calamity in future. Sarma visited Chaparmukh railway station to interact with the flood-affected people taking shelter there and took stock of the relief material provided to them. “Assuring them of all possible help, I asked the district administration to ensure adequate relief to the affected people and be on stand-by,” he said.
Officials said the flood situation in three districts of Barak Valley, Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi remained critical as the water level of Barak and Kushiyara rivers was rising, submerging a lot of land in the valley.
National Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed in Cachar districts to take people to safer places, while representatives of State Disaster Response Force and other agencies have been deployed in the remaining two districts. Altogether 2,16,851 people have been affected by the floods in 506 villages of Cachar district, 1,47,649 in Karimganj and nearly one lakh in Hailakandi. The Chief Minister is scheduled to visit Silchar to review the current flood situation.
Transport Minister Parimal Shuklabaidya is camping at Silchar in Cachar and monitoring the flood situation in Barak Valley along with local MLAs, Deputy Commissioners and senior officials of the three districts. Meanwhile, Japan’s Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki expressed sympathy to the families who “lost their loved ones and were affected by the recent floods and landslides in Assam and Meghalaya”. “Japan always stands with the people in these difficult times,” Satoshi said on Twitter. The Chief Minister thanked him for expressing his concern towards the state and the people affected by the current wave of floods. “We sincerely acknowledge the support and cooperation of Japan and its beautiful people for the development of our state,” Sarma said on the microblogging site.
Oil India Limited has contributed Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Sarma thanked the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli and the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Sushil Kumar Mishra for their contribution and said that this would “be a significant aid to our ongoing flood-relief work”. A total of 55,42,053 people have been affected by the ongoing floods in 32 out of 36 districts of the state.
According to a bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, seven more people died due to floods during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 89 and one missing from Kamrup. According to the bulletin, 12,51,359 people are submerged in flood waters in the worst-affected districts, Barpeta, 5,94,708 in Dhubri and 5,47,421 in Darang. The devastating floods caused by incessant rains have affected 121 revenue circles and 5,577 villages, while 2,62,155 people have taken shelter in 862 relief camps.