Assam Floods: situation grim; 52 dead, 24 lakh affected

Assam: Severe floods sent Assam reeling in crisis as 52 people were reported to be dead, and more than 24 lakh people were affected. The second bout of flood left hundreds of people displaced and homeless when the crisis hit 30 out of 35 districts.

In the state, the situation has been running for more than a month as floods robbed lives, livestock, and crops and damaged infrastructure.

People lost their houses to erosion, and many families are now staying in makeshift camps. When some left their own village and moved to another, the second place also got submerged as floods swollen in the state.

A victim of floods told Asian News International that around 500 families in the Rowmari Pathar area lost lands due to constant erosion and floods every year. The person appealed to the government to save the area and the villagers. Another source from the ground informed us that almost 100 to 150 houses were damaged in the latest flood cycle here.

In Assam’s Barpeta district, river erosion and floods are major issues, affecting 1,40,000 people and 179 villages. The area loses crops in farmlands to the tune of 1,571.5 hectares. The floods affected 7,75,721 people in Dhubri district, submerging 63,490.97 hectares of crop area and 3,518 villages.

In the districts of Neamatighat, Guwahati, Goalpara, and Dhubri, water levels in the Brahmaputra River are above the danger mark, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) informed.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Friday that the state situation was improving, and he visited Dibrugarh town. He asserted that the government is trying everything to help people.

Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria also visited flood-affected areas in the state, Hindustan Times reported.