Floods affect 2 lakh people in Assam ..A total of 1,007 hectares of crop lands submerged

Villagers try to cross a damaged road which was washed away by floodwaters at Sukunia village in Kamrup district on Tuesday. (PTI)

Rokibuz Zaman, TT,  27.05.20, Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam worsened on Tuesday due to heavy rainfall in most parts of the state affecting over 1.94 lakh population in seven districts of Assam amid rising Covid cases, adding to the worry of Dispur.

According to an ASDMA bulletin issued on Tuesday evening, 229 villages in 17 revenue circles have been affected in Lakhimpur (2), Goalpara (2), Dibrugarh (1), Dhemaji (2), Nalbari (6), Tinsukia (2) and Darrang (2) districts.

Tuesday was the fifth day of the first wave floods which has impacted 194,916 people of whom 8,971 are taking shelter in 35 relief camps. A total of 1,007 hectares of crop lands are submerged.

The worsening situation was discussed in the council of ministers’ meeting chaired by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

On Monday, more than 30,000 were affected.

The first wave of floods has come amid the ongoing fight to check the spread of Covid cases which shot to 616 by Tuesday evening.

According to the Met office, rain/thundershowers are very likely to occur in most places over Assam and its neighbouring states. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Guwahati, predicted heavy rainfall in the northeastern region for the next four days, issuing a red alert (extremely heavy rainfall) in Assam’s Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang districts for the next two days. “The rain will continue as per the forecast for four days,” said Sanjay O’Neill Shaw of the RMC in a press statement.

The Jia Bharali is flowing above the danger level in Sonitpur district and the Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Neematighat.

Lower Assam’s Goalpara is the worst-hit district where over 1.68 lakh people have been affected as floodwaters inundated National Highway 17 at several places.

Pankaj Mahato from Dhupdhara said an embankment in the Rongram river flowing from Meghalaya had been breached at Kharkhuta along the Assam-Meghalaya border and many houses and paddy fields were washed away.

Rupert Momin, MLA Kharkhuta, Meghalaya, said in his constituency more than 1,000 people were affected in the current flash floods.

In Nalbari district, there was a breach by the Buradia river in village Amoni (Purni Pam) under Paschim Nalbari revenue circle.

Six houses were damaged due to erosion at Garsinga Bhiya village under Tezpur revenue circle in Sonitpur district.

Floods have affected over 15,000 domestic animals and poultry and damages to roads have been reported from the affected districts.

Wall collapse: A major mishap was averted at Navajyoti Nagar in Panjabari when a portion of a guard wall of the house of one Bipin Sharma collapsed and destroyed part of the kitchen of his downhill neighbour Dhananjay Nath.

No casualties or injuries were reported from the landslide site at Bylane No. 1, Navajyoti Nagar, Panjabari, on Tuesday.

Additional reporting by Kulendu Kalita in Boko and Ali Fauz Hassan in Guwahati