Lower Assam is the worst-hit region of Assam floods. (FILE)
A major rail line joining northeast to the east of the country has now become a shelter home to people who have fled floods in the lower Assam region.
Tarpaulin tents pitched besides the rail tracks are now home to some 300 families in Assam's Bajali district. Their village, Shimlaguri, currently inundated in flood waters.
For Rina Rajbondhi, it's her fourth night without electricity, clean drinking water and proper food. She is busy cooking her only meal of the day on a rickety stove.
"We are managing with only one meal a day, even that is difficult to make. The stove is broken, there is no kerosene. I neither have money to buy anything nor I have candles. The food stock is finishing fast," she told NDTV.
Authorities are facing a dual challenge, sending food items to those who have moved to relief camps and evaluating and rescuing those stranded.
70 km from Bajali is Kamalpur in Kamrup district where nearly a lakh in 65 villages are hit by the deluge.
"With SDRF, NDRF, now Army has been helping us in rescue operations and we are also handling relief operations despite our offices still submerged and even our staff houses are under flood waters. It is a challenging situation," said Parikshit Phukan, Kamalpur's Circle Officer.
Across lower Assam, the worst-hit region of Assam floods, there are other similar tales of desperation.
Medhikuchi village in the Bajali district of Assam is one of the worst-hit areas in the state. The embankment of the Pahumora river near the village has been breached, causing widespread damage to the roads, culverts and hutments.
Villagers say this is the worst flood Bajali has faced in decades.
"Floods happen every year but this year, it's huge. The issue is the embankment is not mended well, every year the ministers and MLAs assure us but nothing happens," said Tulsi Talukdar.
Her neighbor Gobinda Talukdar was more blatant.
"The administration did not really come and see how we are doing and we thank NDTV that you have come to report our stories. The situation might actually turn more serious. Earlier, the water was receding bit by bit but now the flood waters are back with more force. Every house is inundated and we are not getting relief properly," said a local, Gobinda Talukdar.
In Bajali, at least three lakh people have been affected, over 170 villages inundated. The government says efforts are on to reach those marooned but the situation is unprecedented.
Across lower Assam, flood waters are gushing in new areas and inundating villages and hundreds of villagers are under the grip of massive floods. In many places, even boats cannot move in and tractors are the only means to reach out to the victims for the authorities and rescuers.
Cut to Sipajhar, National Highway 15, a key road link that links central Assam on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra and serves as a vital link to western Arunachal, is inundated. As traffic has been stopped, people are dangerously crossing the flooded highway on foot.
"I have an important job interview in Guwahati. So, I have no option but to walk through flood waters," Anwar Islam told NDTV.
Not just roads, with half a dozen rivers in Assam flowing over danger level, rural Assam is inundated.