Assam News Desk: The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim as seven more lives were lost to the deluge on Thursday taking the toll to 108.
The total population affected by the current wave of flood, however, registered a decline to 45.34 lakh in 30 districts from Wednesday’s 54.50 lakh in 32 districts, according to a bulletin shared by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the flood-hit state’s citizens of all Central help and said the situation is under continuous monitoring. He said the Centre is working closely with the state government to provide all assistance to overcome the challenge.
The BJP-led governments in the state and Centre have come under the fire of the Opposition for not doing enough to battle the natural calamity, but keeping themselves busy to ‘topple the government in Maharashtra.
“Over the last few days, parts of Assam have witnessed flooding due to heavy rainfall. The Central Government is continuously monitoring the situation in Assam and is working closely with the State Government to provide all possible assistance to overcome this challenge,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
“Army and NDRF teams are present in the flood-affected areas. They are conducting evacuation operations and assisting those who are affected. The Air Force has conducted over 250 sorties as a part of the evacuation process.”
“CM @himantabiswa, Ministers of the Assam Government and officials are working round the clock in the districts and helping those who have suffered. I pray for the safety and wellbeing of all those in affected areas and once again assure all possible support,” he added.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made an aerial survey of the flood-hit Silchar district and said he air-dropped packets of food items, water bottles and other essential items to flood-affected villagers.
After making the aerial survey, the CM reviewed the flood scenario in the Barak Valley region and announced that additional columns of the Army will be sent to Silchar town for evacuation of the marooned people there.
Three districts of Barak Valley – Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj — were severely affected by the rising water of the Barak and Kushiara rivers, while Silchar town was submerged due to the breach of an embankment.
However, the worst affected districts were Barpeta with 10,32,561 people suffering due to the flood followed by Kamrup (4,29,166), Nagaon (5,03,308) and Dhubri (3,99,945), according to an ASDMA bulletin.
The floods have also damaged 173 roads and 20 bridges, while two embankments were breached in Baksa and Darrang districts each and three were damaged.
Crop areas worth 100869.7 hectares and 33,77,518 animals have been affected in this second wave of floods, while 84 animals were washed away during the day.
