Assam Floods Affect Over 1.33 Lakh Across 11 Districts

The flood situation in Assam is worsening after over 1.33 lakh people across 11 districts were affected, a bulletin issued by the state's disaster management agency on Friday said.

Districts affected by floods due to heavy rainfall in catchment areas are Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia.

So far 243 villages have been affected due to flooding of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

Fortunately no loss of lives (human or animal) have been reported so far, the bulletin said.

162 people and 40 animals have been evacuated with the help of boats so far.

6,217 people have taken shelter in 66 relief camps set up by the district administrations of Bongaigaon and Chirang. Five camps in Dhemaji district and three more in Tinsukia are on standby.

63,891 people have been affected in Bongaigaon, followed 31,500 in Dhemaji and 13,239 in Majuli.

A point of worry is the rising water level in most of the affected districts; in several places the rivers are already flowing above the danger mark, officials have said.

Five medical teams have been deployed, the bulletin said.

There are reports that 16 roads have been damaged in Bongaigaon and Dhemaji, although no embankments have been breached so far.

Erosion has been reported from several places in Baksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Goalpara, Cachar, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Majuli, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts.

Last month Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced efforts to prevent floods, including a pilot project to divert water from the Brahmaputra and its tributaries during the monsoon.

"As a pilot project, they have identified certain regions in Dhemaji district where excess water from Brahmaputra River can be diverted during the monsoon," he said.

The state government also said it would work to take soil erosion during floods.