Assam flood situation worsens, PM speaks to Gogoi

Guwahati, July 8: The flood situation in Assam further deteriorated on Monday with 80 more villages coming under water, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to discuss the situation and extended the central help.

With these 80 villages coming under water in Dhemaji, Chirang and Lakhimpur districts, altogether 350 villages in 11 districts were now submerged affecting over one lakh people, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh has caused river Jiadhol to rise and inundate fresh areas in worst-hit Dhemaji district. The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat district, Burhidehing in Dibrugarh district, Desang in Sibsagar and Jia Bharali in Sonitpur.

The Prime Minister spoke to Gogoi and assured him of all help from the Central government to combat the flood situation, official sources said. The PM inquired about the latest on the flood situation and asked the chief minister what kind of help would be required from the Centre. The first wave of flood this season since June has claimed one life in Morigaon district.

About 6,000 hectares of agricultural land have been submerged with standing crops like rice being destroyed. Seven relief camps have been set up in Dhemaji and Chirang districts where about 1,500 people were sheltered. The flood victims claimed there were no river embankments at various places or those breached by earlier floods were not repaired before the flood.

Floods have damaged six roads, one bridge, three culverts in Golaghat district, breached an embankment each at Madanpur and Chandpur in Karimganj district, ASDMA said.

The flood has also hit the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park where an elephant and an antelope were perished. Temporary restoration is being done with bamboo palisading and earth. The 11 affected districts are Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Chirang, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Morigaon and Sibsagar.

PTI