By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: At least 32 people have been killed during the last 48 hours due to flood in Assam’s Goalpara and Kamrup district following continuous rain occurred in Assam and Meghalaya.
Though the rain has stopped, the flood condition is still far from being normal. The affected people who have been shifted to 74 relief camps and 88 shelter places alleged that there are no proper facility of food and medicine.
The flash flood in Guwahati city, the state capital, has claimed five lives so far during the last three days due to landslide and electrocution.
Goalpara district witnessed the highest number of deaths with 14 then Kamrup (rural) 12 and one person was killed in Dhubri district as of Wednesday.
The locals feared that the number of missing persons could be much more.
“The water level has gone down on Wednesday. But the major concern at this moment is to provide relief material and medicine facilities at the camps. So far we have not seen any such arrangement by the district administration,” said Robiul Islam, a local youth in Boko of Kamrup district.
Altogether 13 districts of the state have been affected by flood touching more than 8 lakh people. The affected districts are Dhemaji, Barpeta, Kamrup, Udalguri, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Nalbari, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Goalpara, Darrang, Bongaigaon, Nagaon and Kamrup (Metro).
With around 10 lakh hectares of land under water, the farmers will have a tough time in the coming days.
The state government also called in the Army to help evacuate hundreds of people trapped in pockets of the worst-affected Golapara district following the incessant rains for the last 48 hours. The Army also pressed into service IAF helicopters to survey the isolated and inundated areas.
The met office has issued another warning. “Heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at isolated places in Assam, Meghalaya on September 25 (Thursday). Isolated places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura will get incessant rain on September 25,” read the warning.
On Wednesday, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi appraised the union home minister Rajnath Singh regarding the current flood situation in the state.
Gogoi told Singh that scores of marooned people have been evacuated and efforts are on to rescue the stranded ones.
The chief minister also requested the union home minister to raise the ex-gratia to the next of kin of those who died and sustained injuries and enhanced Central assistance for damaged houses and cropped land. The union home minister while assuring the chief minister of all possible Central help and assistance, asked him to submit a proposal in this regard.
Many in the state, however, have felt that the central government neglected the flood in Assam and the state government has failed to address the need.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the apex students’ body of the state has asked a team of union ministers to visit the state and do the needful immediately.
Others also said that if Kashmir flood can be declared as national disaster why the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi has neglected the plight in Assam.
Many people and NGOs have come forward to help the flood affected people across the state. On Wednesday, popular singer Zubeen Garg and his friends distributed food items among the flood victims in Boko area of Kamrup district.
The singer has also urged people to come out and assist the needy instead of waiting for the government to do the needful. “When the people are in crisis, we should come forward and try ourselves to make their life less miserable in our own ways,” Zubeen said.
Ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh is being paid to be Next of Kin of the deceased. State government is initiating process for restoration of road communication disrupted due to flood and taking necessary measures for providing Health and sanitation facilities in the affected areas.
“Thousands of people are being trapped in the flood water. People are waiting for being rescued on the roof of the houses, on the trees. None can say certainly what is happening there. The condition of the flood victims is beyond description. How many persons have been washed away is still uncertain. Our plight is equal to Kashmir. We urge the central government to declare it as national disaster,” said Hafiz Ahmed, president of Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad (CCSP), a socio-cultural organization of the state.
CCSP has decided to collect relief materials. CCSP has also urged the people to contact following numbers for relief 9435541874, 9859925469, 9401008915(NAGAON), 9435291729(BARPETA), 9435482676(KALGACHIA), 8822824167, 9954628121(LAKHIMPUR), 9435810771(BARPETA) 9401614661(HOJAI), 9435725725531 (CHAPAR).