By IANS,
Guwahati : The flood situation in Assam continued to be critical Friday, with an estimated 1.5 million people displaced and 17 dead, even as soldiers were engaged in a massive relief and rescue mission, officials said.
“A total of 19 of the state’s 27 districts are hit by the floods displacing about 1.5 million people and killing 17 with the overall situation continuing to be critical,” Assam Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Bhumidhar Barman told IANS.
A government statement said 2,500 villages were hit by the floods, affecting nearly 400,000 hectares.
The cumulative figures are from the first wave of floods that began May 28. This is the second wave of floods that began a fortnight ago.
“The worst hit districts are Dhubri, Jorhat, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Morigaon, where the situation is still very grim,” the minister said.
The swirling floodwaters of the Brahmaputra river have cut a treacherous swathe across Assam, breaching more than 25 vital embankments, besides sweeping away road bridges and stretches of highways.
“Thousands of people are staying in makeshift shelters with the government providing food and other essentials to the displaced people besides healthcare facilities.
“Army soldiers are still working in vulnerable areas, providing relief and engaged in rescure work,” the minister said.
Two of Assam’s major wildlife sanctuaries – the famed Kaziranga National Park and the Pabitora Wildife Sanctuary – are under water.
Four rhinos were killed and several deer were mowed down by speeding trucks while trying to cross the 430 sq km Kaziranga to escape the floodwaters.
“The situation is alarming with animals moving out of the park with the entire Kaziranga submerged,” Kaziranga director S.N. Buragohain told IANS.
A Central Water Commission bulletin said the main Brahmaputra river and its tributaries were flowing above the danger level in at least 12 places with the situation likely to worsen.
The Regional Meteorological Centre warned of more rains and thundershowers.
The 2,906 km long Brahmaputra is one of Asia’s longest rivers that traverse its first stretch of 1,625 km in China’s Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before meeting the Ganga and flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
Every year, the floods leave a trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging paddy fields and drowning livestock, besides causing loss of human life and property in Assam.
In 2004, more than 200 people were killed in floods in Assam.