The flood situation in Assam improved on Saturday as the number of affected people came down to 22.17 lakh from the previous day’s 29.70 lakh, officials said, in which one more person died, taking the death toll to 174. The situation is also improving in Silchar town of Cachar district, which has been submerged in water for nearly two weeks.
An inter-ministerial team held a meeting with Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua and other stakeholders here after visiting some flood-affected districts to assess the damage. An official release said that Barua requested the team members to submit their report to the Center at the earliest so that the state government could get more central funds at the earliest.
The Brahmaputra, Kopili, Disang, Buridihing and Barak are flowing above the danger mark at many places, though most of the rivers are receding. According to a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the death toll rose to 174 after one person died due to floods in Cachar district.
The Cachar district administration is taking steps to extract water from the closed areas. However, water-logging remained in the severely affected areas of the district headquarters town, which had experienced unprecedented flooding after the breach of the dam over the Barak river at Bethkundi.
One person has been arrested for the violation, which officials claimed was allegedly done by miscreants and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the floods there as ‘man-made’. A case has been registered and CID is probing the matter.
According to the ASDMA bulletin, 1934 villages under 77 revenue circles have been affected across the state, while 2,77,355 people have taken shelter in 404 relief camps. Relief materials were distributed from 138 delivery points among those who have not taken shelter in the relief camps. A crop area of 50,741.18 hectares has been submerged, while 34,242 animals were washed away and 7,81,780 were affected.
32 camps in Kaziranga National Park were submerged in flood waters while 10 camps in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary were inundated. There was widespread erosion in many districts. The bulletin said landslides were also reported from Hailakandi but there were no casualties.
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