A flooded road in Meghalaya.
At least 80 people have been killed in Assam and Meghalaya after the recent flash floods and landslides. But as the flood waters start receding, the focus is now on assessing the damage caused to infrastructure.
Most rural roads in Meghalaya are badly damaged, and even those that have been re-opened, are slush-ridden, making it impossible for trucks with essential supplies to travel.
Rescue and relief teams too are facing huge problems in reaching the rural areas of Garo Hills, a region badly hit by landslides. The flash floods, triggered off by a massive cloud-burst in South West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya on Sunday night, caused landslides throughout the region.
The Meghalaya government has said it is working on an emergency plan to get oil tankers and trucks carrying essential supplies into the affected areas at the earliest.
NDTV met a group of truck drivers who have been camping in Rari, on National Highway 51 that leads to Tura, for the past five days. Heavy vehicles are as of now not allowed to travel any further on the highway.
Manoj Mandal, one of the truck drivers, told us, "We appeal to the administration to help us. It is difficult to even find one kg of rice in the shops here."
In Assam too, almost 100 roads and bridges have been damaged in the last week, and boats are the only way to reach the far flung areas.