From our Special Correspondent

SILCHAR, July 9: Around 250 families residing in and around Madhura cluster of villages in the Udharbond constituency of Cachar, 22 km from Silchar, were recently affected by flash-flood caused by the hilly river Madhura, originating from the hills of North Cachar Hills, now Dima Hasao district. 22 families of them lost everything in the worst ever natural calamity as their thatched houses along with all the belongings were swept away by the high currents of the river. The disaster struck these unfortunate families , daily wage earners, living from hand to mouth, early in the morning of a day. Before they could wake up and understand anything, they found themselves in knee deep waters. They could salvage nothing. Fortunately, all the members, old, young and children, could rush to safer places high on the slopes of the hills. It was a cyclonic storm lashed with heavy showers, they recalled.

NGO of the town, Paradise Milan Society, with their members headed by its president, Ashis Ranjan Guha, and Madhura GP president Pankaj Dhar, Ajoy Ghosh, Krishna Roy and Abinash Guha among others distributed among the families reduced to penury kitchen items, mosquito nets, rice and other necessary materials to begin life afresh. Others not so badly affected were helped with rice. The NGO stood by the side of helpless flood victims on the request of Ajit Singh, Minister of Sports and Excise, in whose constituency Madhura falls.