Rajnath Singh meeting the family members of those affected by the floods in Assam.
Highlights
- 18 lakh people across 22 districts have been hit by floods in Assam
- The army has sent over 700 men to help with the rescue efforts
- Almost 80 per cent of Kaziranga national park has been submerged
Union home minister Rajnath Singh is in Assam to take stock of the damage caused by the ongoing floods, which have so far killed 26 people. Floods are ravaging Bihar too, where 26 people have died and 25 lakh people have been displaced.
Here are the 10 facts in this big story:
After an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Assam, and meeting the victims in Morigaon district, Rajnath Singh said, "The situation is grim". "No efforts are being spared (to help) and the people are satisfied with government's response,' he said.
"Declaring floods as a national calamity is not a solution to the problem. There is a need for a action plan to deal with such serious flood situation," he said.
The minister, who took an aerial survey of Nagaon, Morigaon and the Kaziranga national park, was accompanied by junior Home minister Kiren Rijiju and minister for development of the north east, Jitendra Singh.
The army tweeted, saying, "Nine army columns deployed for floor relief in Assam & Bihar. 2000+ rescued. Brahmaputra breach being plugged."
In Bihar, around 25 lakh people have been affected by floods across 10 districts -- Purnia, Kishanganj, Araria, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Saharsa, Supaul and Gopalganj.
Assam is reeling under heavy floods, which affected at least 18 lakh people in 22 districts of the state. More than 3,300 villages have been affected.
The affected districts include Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Dhemaji, Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Darrang, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Kokrajhar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Biswanath, Kamrup Metropolitan, Chirang, Nagaon, Kamrup and South Kamrup.
With houses submerged, boats have become homes to many. They sleep, cook and eat on the boats.
Almost 80 per cent of the Kaziranga national park, home to the one-horned rhino, is submerged in water.
The government says the rains in Assam have been unprecedented this year. The locals and the administration officials, however, allege that flood mitigation measures, like building of large dams, have not been taken.
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