Deluge in Singara river throws life off gear in Lakhimpur

50 villages under flood

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR, June 29: A sudden deluge in Singara river caused severe damage in Lakhimpur on Thursday. As per report, the water level of the river began to overflow from 7 am and then the massive force of the overflown water breached a 100-metre portion of the Dolohat Phoolbari connecting PWD road near Dolhat Tiniali around 8 am. The current of the deluge damaged around 40 residential houses, including commercial institutions, washing away individual properties. The flood then inundated more than 50 villages under four gaon panchayats of the revenue circle causing massive damage in Dolohat, Dikpukhuri, Putukai, Bishnupur Balma, and Haripur villages.

The jawans of SDRF were potent enough to rescue the affected people from the catastrophe.

Though the office of the Nowboicha GP was submerged in flood, the documents of NRC were rescued by SDRF. On the other hand, water rolled down on NH-15 between Dolohat Tiniali and Rajali as a result of which the plying of hundreds of vehicles stopped on both sides of the highway. Though the Lakhimpur district administration led by Deputy Commissioner Dr. Jeevan B. is monitoring the situation, no flood relief camp has been established.

The affected people are taking shelter in the high land of the NH-15. Water Resources Minister Keshav Mahanta who arrived in Lakhimpur to take stock of the flood situation in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji visited the affected areas. Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah, Lakhimpur MLA Utpal Dutta and Nowboicha MLA Maun Imdadul Haque Choudhury also visited the site. It is imagined that blocked water in Arunachal Pradesh due to torrential rain these days caused the destruction coming through the river in overwhelming rush.

On the other hand, it is alleged that the people of the affected areas had to face with the calamity this year due to improper implementation of a scheme of constructing the guide dam of the river covering 1.80 km with the investment of fund of Rs. 21 lakh implemented by Nowboicha Development Block. The guide dam could not reach the area where the deluge breached across the PWD road. The leaders of various organizations, including Jiban Rajkhowa, the state secretary of AAUA, demanded an inquiry into the implementation of the scheme.