Assam floods: The state has been battling floods and the coronavirus pandemic at the same time
Assam's junior Health Minister and MLA Pijush Hazarika has been working with rescuers and relief managers on a boat to reach flood-hit people in the state's Morigaon district, 75 km east of Guwahati.
On Tuesday, the river that flows down from neighbouring Meghalaya swelled up due to heavy rains and breached its banks as the huge volume of water could not enter the overflowing Brahmaputra.
The flood situation in Assam is still serious, with over 26 lakh people affected in 26 districts; 89 have died.
Assam's Morigaon district, which has been hit by the floods for over one month, is one of the worst hit with over 300 villages affected. Mayong circle in Morigaon has one of the highest affected villages, 150 in all, and heavy rains have made this year's floods even more difficult to handle.
In Gova Mouza, the river surge has left hundreds homeless overnight. They are now in relief camps, from the elderly to children.
"The killing river got flooded quickly. It was a sudden flood. We somehow managed to escape. Today, water has receded here but increasing in the other end," said Ranjit Baishnab, a flood survivor.
Mr Hazarika said this time the floods have been compounded by spells of heavy rains. The challenge is huge for the state government that has the coronavirus pandemic to deal with too.
"In this area 70 panchayats are under water, largely also because Brahmaputra overflowed. In my area there is one embankment, but in the neighbouring area another embankment has breached," the minister said.
In the neighbouring area there is palpable tension on fresh floods.
"We are afraid and it's a concern for us since running away to safety becomes our priority and our stuff get washed away," said Janis Rajbhar, a villager.