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GUWAHATI: The weather department’s prediction of no rain for the next two days has led to the first stirring of hope in Assam that perhaps, just perhaps the worst is over.
“The situation has been improving with each passing minute and the number of people in the camps are reducing” claimed Additional Sub Divisional Magistrate P K Tewari while talking to The Citizen.
Meanwhile the toll of dead has one up to 46 with five more persons dying in the floods this week. Over 18 lakhs have been impacted in what could develop into a major humanitarian crisis if relief and rehabilitation measures are tardy, and do not
Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said five pesons had been washed away in floods late last month, taking the total death toll in two waves of floods this year to 46 in the state. The affected villages were located in Dhemaji, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Morigaon, Cachar, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Darrang, Nalbari, Kamrup, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Nagaon, Dhubri, Kamrup Metropolitan and Goalpara districts.
The worst-hit is Dhubri district with nearly 4.5 lakh people affected. ASDMA said nearly 1.1 lakh hectares of crop land are under water currently. District authorities have set up 277 relief camps in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Cachar, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Sonitpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Kamrup, Goalpara and Dhubri, where nearly 1.4 lakh people are lodged, the release said.
“ We have seen the worst in the past few days. We have prepared and tackled the situation as far as possible in a fair manner. The number of people in the rescue camps were in lakhs till Monday. They are now in thousands. Imagine the situation” Tewar saidi.
“ We are in touch with the officials on a regular basis and the met office says the worst is over, though we are prepared but the weather gods have been kind in the past two days” he added.
River Brahmaputra is still flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat in Jorhat district, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Guwahati, Goalpara town and Dhubri town, ASDMA said. Rivers Burhidehing at Khowang in Dibrugarh, Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali at NT Road crossing in Sonitpur, Kopili at Dharamtul in Nagaon, Beki at Road Bridge in Barpeta and Kushiyara at Karimganj town are also flowing above the danger mark.
