Guwahati: Torrential rains in Assam have led to worsening of the flood situation with villages and farmland in many districts under water and reports of two more deaths taking the toll to 10. Official sources today said that incessant rain since last night has inundated many localities and main roads. One person was killed due to landslide in Shantipur area this morning while a woman was washed away by Dhala River in upper Assam's Tinsukia district.
Bharalu River, which flows through the city was flooded and many localities, including Naveen Nagar, Zoo Road, Pub-Sarania and Mathura Nagar were under waist deep water. According to senior government officials, upper Assam districts bore the brunt of flood with lakhs of people reeling under flood waters in the districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar and Jorhat.
Ferry services between the northern and southern banks of the Brahmaputra have been suspended till further orders due to rising water levels and swift current, sources said. Suspension of ferry operations at Naematighat and Majuli island in Jorhat has caused hardship to the people of the island, for whom the service in their lifeline.
Patients in hospitals of Majuli, Asia's largest river island, needing urgent treatment are the worst affected. A total of 72 villages in Majuli have been submerged by rising waters of the Brahmaputra, which has also entered the main police station and two colleges in the island.
The historic satra (Vaishnative monastery) of Kamalabari has been threatened by the flood water. People in Kamalabari area have started vacating homes and moving to higher grounds. Many roads in the island have been submerged. A ferry of the district administration carrying relief material to Majuli had to turn back after hitting sand bars at Darbar Chapori, official sources said.
In Jorhat, water has risen to dangerous levels at Nimatighat and the main dyke in the area is under threat of submergence. Around 400 families in the area have been affected, the sources said. A stray rhino, suspected to have fled from the Kaziranga National Park, attacked and injured around half a dozen people in Ronogdoi and Nimatighat areas this morning, the sources said.
In Teok, six people are missing after having gone out to bring back their cattle flock. Over 40 villages have been submerged in Dhala. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has started rescue operations in the area.
Flood water has entered the Dibru Saikhowa National Park and there are reports of deer being slaughtered by some persons. Deer meat is being sold for around Rs 400 per kilo even as forest department officials are nowhere to be seen, locals in the region alleged. In Dibrugarh district, people in Rohmoria, one of the worst affected areas, panicked after a herd of wild animals entered the zone to escape flood water in the neighbouring forests, sources said.
Around 14 villages in Dishangmukh have been affected by rising water in the Brahmaputra. Over one lakh people in Dhemaji have been affected by floods which has entered scores of villages and caused severe erosion in some of Brahmaputra's tributaries like Jiadhal and Lali, which are all above dangerous levels, sources said. People in Dhemaji town were spending anxious moments with flood water threatening habitations.
In lower Assam, water in the Champawati river in Bongaigaon district has risen above the danger level. Many villages in Baksa district have been affected by water flowing down from the hills of Bhutan, sources said. In central Assam's Nagaon district, the Kopili river has seen water levels rise to dangerous levels due to incessant rainfall, sources said.
In south Assam's Barak Valley, traffic to Mizoram has been affected due to waterlogging in parts of National Highway number 54. People in the area today took out a protest march alleging inaction of the administration to solve the problem of waterlogging.
The water level in various rivers of Cachar district has risen due to heavy rainfall since the past few days. The main river Barak was flowing 92 centimeters below danger level this morning at Silchar town. Many low lying areas have been flooded.
The district administration and water resource department was keeping strict vigil on the situation. A control room had been set up for the purpose and to take necessary steps as and when required at Silchar. Nearly five lakh people have been affected in the first wave of flood in the state this year, sources said.
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