Army comes to rescue flood-affected people of Assam

Guwahati, Sept 2 : The army today began evacuating villagers in Assam which is reeling under severe flood with the Brahmaputra river breaching more than 20 vital embankments.

Floods have affected more than a million people and damaged road networks in different parts of the state.

Villagers in Rangia sub division of Kamrup district said that the flood has led to considerable damage, though the Army and the Air Force are doing their best.

"Some 20 to 25 villages have been severely affected by floods. Army personnel are evacuating people but we are facing food shortage problem as the national highway is also under water," said Ranjit Dey, a local.

Army personnel said they have evacuated at least 100 people till now and the Air Force too has been pressed into service.

"At least 100 people have been evacuated by this troop. We have also called for helicopters, which have rescued about 18 people. We found some of the villagers on tree tops and evacuated them," said R. Panikar, an army official.

Meanwhile, the flood situation remains grim in Assam with the deluge inundating 167 villages in the largest river island Majuli besides washing away a baby rhino in Kaziranga National Park.

In Majuli, 167 villages were under waist-deep floods affecting a population of 1.5 lakh and the swirling waters threatening to engulf fresh areas putting into danger the very existence of the island.

Moreover, the Brahmaputra along with its tributaries was flowing above the danger level in the districts of Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Dhubri, Jorhat and Kamrup where NH-31 was breached cutting off the north-east region from the rest of the country.

The Kaziranga National park is also under floodwaters forcing the animals, including the famous one-horned rhinos and elephants, to take shelter on the high platforms constructed within the park located in Golaghat district, park director S N Buragohain said on Tuesday.

ANI