Assam: 19 dead, 30 lakh left homeless as flood water starts receding

Guwahati: The situation in Assam, where water from the third wave of flood inundated 16 districts of the state is receding, remains grim with 19 people dead and over 30 lakh affected. Lakhs of animals have also been swept away and farmlands inundated in the one of the most devastating floods in more than a decade. The death of animals has given rise to the fear of diseases being spread.

The weather is also showing signs of improvement. Though the Brahmaputra, Subansiri and Dhansiri along with their tributaries were still flowing above the danger level, the flood waters were seen receding from the 2594 villages and 2,26,902 hectare farmland, official sources said.

Among the many tragic stories to surface from the flood is of a brave 20-year-old boy, who died trying to save others. Raj Kishore Chodhury, a BCom student, died on the night of September 20 trying to help people in Tinsukai.

People were just beginning to rebuild their lives after the previous wave of floods when the third wave hit, leaving people homeless and helpless.

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The deluge has left a colossal damage in its wake after it swept away lakhs of homes, destroyed standing crop, flooded major roads and highways, inundated farmlands and swept away lakhs of animals.

"This time it has been enormous, the rains just didn't stop in catchment areas in Arunachal. While the waters are receding in upper Assam I pity the people in lower Assam. It will take enormous amount of time and money to make dykes and flood bands," Major General Rajiv Narayanan, who is engaged in rescue operations in Sadiya, one of the worst affected regions in Assam.

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Several roads and bridges in the state are flooded making rescue efforts difficult. The National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the army and the IAF, who are engaged in rescue and relief operations, had to evacuate people by airlifting them from many places"

Another concern is the possibility of diseases arising due to the deaths of the animals and proliferation of insects like mosquitos, which proliferate during the rainy season.

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In Tinsukia district, about 120 families have taken refuge in a relief camp set up at the Dhola High School. Having lost their home, land and cattle, the victims face an uncertain future.

"We need shelter, we are totally homeless, we can't go on staying in this school. Children need to go to school we can't keep occupying it," an inmate of the camp said.

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With 10,000 cattle swept away in the flood, the livelihood of the affected people, whose main occupation is dairy farming, has also been severely affected.

The Kaziranga National Park, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and the Dibru Saikhowa National park are still under water. Animals in these sanctuaries are at risk from the flood waters and also from poachers who have already killed 2 endangered one-horned rhinoceros for their horns and sawed off the horn from a third, leaving it to die.  

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With the attack on three rhinos, the total number of rhinos who have fallen prey to poachers this year has risen to 16. Alarmed with the recent spate of killings, the Environment Ministry has dispatched a team of the Wildlife Crime Bureau to investigate the cause of deaths. Also, a flood assessment team of the state government headed by Disaster Management Minister Prithbi Manjhi visited the Lower Assam districts to take stock of the flood situation.

(With input from PTI)