Monday brought more devastation to Assam, as the floods claimed the lives of 10 more people, including two policemen.
As rain continued to batter parts of the state, affecting more than 45 lakh people in 32 districts, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said an inter-ministerial Central team would be dispatched to assess the damage. The team would visit both Assam and Meghalaya, the two worst-affected Northeastern states this monsoon.
Army personnel rescue flood-affected villagers on a boat in Tarabari village, west of Guwahati, on Monday. (Photo: AP)
“Spoke to CM Assam @himantabiswa and CM Meghalaya @SangmaConrad to discuss the situation in parts of both states in the wake of heavy rain and flooding. Modi government stands with people of Assam and Meghalaya in this hour of need,” Shah tweeted on Monday evening.
While in Meghalaya 28 persons have died since April, Assam has witnessed 81 deaths.
On Monday, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma met families of those killed in a landslide in Mawsynram Block in East Khasi Hills. He said the government was working to ensure that electricity and mobile connectivity was restored in the affected areas.
Traffic has now started moving on the damaged NH-6 — that serves as the road link between the rest of the country and south Assam’s Barak Valley districts, as well as Mizoram and Tripura — on a trial basis, Sangma said.
A woman carries her child and wades through the flooded streets of Tarabari village, west of Guwahati, on Monday. (Photo: AP)
Meanwhile, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma held a virtual meeting with his Cabinet and state government officials and DCs, on Monday morning, emphasising that relief and rescue operations should be “top priority”, without any delay due to procedural hurdles. He also directed authorities to form health camps to deal with post-flood diseases as water recedes.
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On Monday, the state government requisitioned IAF to airlift petrol, diesel and geo bags to south Assam’s Barak valley, which remains cut off.
A report from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said 47,72,140 people were affected in more than 5,000 villages. More than 2 lakh people are in relief camps in various parts of the state. On Monday, 10 people, including two children, drowned in floodwaters in Cachar, Darrang, Dibrugarh, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup, Lakhimpur and Nagaon districts.
An Indian army soldier helps a flood-affected family rowing to a safer place. (Photo: AP)
Two policemen, including the officer in-charge of the Kampur police station in Nagaon, were washed away while on rescue duty. “During an ops last night, a team of @assampolice fell in a water body in Kampur area of Nagaon,” tweeted Assam Special DGP GP Singh, adding that Officer in-charge Samujjal Kakoti and Constable Rajiv Bordoloi had jumped in to save their colleagues. Bodies were retrieved the next day.
