OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: At least 19 persons have been rescued by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in an early morning rescue operation on Friday who was stranded on an island at Siang River in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh for 24 hours.
On Thursday, the East Siang district administration had requested the IAF for requisition of the helicopter to evacuate people stranded at Jampani under Sille-Oyan Circle of the district. The persons, all cow herders from Assam, were stranded after the water level started rising while high current made it impossible for boats to ferry, East Siang DC Tamiyo Tatak informed. Cow herders stranded at Jampani were rescued by the IAF at 4.30 Friday morning, the DC informed adding, the district administration had already issued a red alert advising the people to refrain from venturing into the Siang River for fishing, bathing and other purposes, as the river is in high spate with unusually high tides.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu had personally monitored the evacuation operation minute-to-minute from Itanagar, the DC said, adding Lok Sabha MP Ninong Ering and Pasighat West MLA Tatung Jamoh along with police and locals helped in rescuing the cattle being swept by the high current of the river.
Tatak informed that though the level of the river is rising with the high current it is below the danger mark. According to reports, heavy rains in China has resulted in rising in the volume of water and the Siang river, also known as Tsangpo in China and Brahmaputra in Assam, is flowing in high spate in many places.
Many low-lying areas are facing the threat of flood and erosion especially in Mebo circle under the district. Over 1,000 families living along Siang River have been affected by the river’s unusually high but muddy waves at Mebo, local legislator Lombo Tayeng informed. Pointing out that the waves washed away the houses of 15 families of Seram-Ramku village, he added that most of the inhabitants on the left bank have been evacuated to safer places.
The level of Siang River started rising after 1 pm on Friday. At 5 pm, the water level of Siang River at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh was 153.37 metre while at Dibrugarh the level of Brahmaputra River was steady at 1 pm, and the level at 5 pm was 105.31 metre.
Meanwhile, district administrations of Dibrugarh, Majuli, and Dhemaji are in close coordination and in high alert.