No respite from floods, Majuli, KNP worst hit

17 lakh affected in 21 districts, AASU demands special package from Centre

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, July 27: There was no respite from floods in Assam on Wednesday with about 17 lakh people hit by the latest wave. The Brahmaputra is flowing above danger mark along Nimatighat, Tezpur, Goalpara, Dhubri and Guwahati. It tributaries like Buridihing, Subansiri, Dhansiri, Jia Bhoroli, Puthimari, Beki, Sonkosh and few others are also flowing above danger levels, inundating new areas.

The death toll has gone up to 12 in the current wave of floods. Marooned people are fleeing to relief camps as the situation has worsened in 21 districts of the State. The Army, NDRF and the state disaster response teams are carrying out rescue operations on war footing as new areas have been submerged by floodwaters.

Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal’s home constituency Majuli and Kaziranga tiol Park are worst hit by the current floods. Floodwaters have submerged NH-37 at eight places along the tiol park, hampering traffic movement. Wild animals from park are seen moving to high land towards Karbi Anglong, crossing over NH-37.

The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), the joint wildlife welfare facility run by Assam Forest department, Intertiol Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) situated in Kaziranga tiol Park, has attended to 12 wildlife rescue cases in the ongoing deluge.

Three infant rhino calves were rescued from a fringe village of Kaziranga tiol Park on Wednesday. The calves are under observation at the CWRC large animal nursery for stabilization. 

This apart, 8 hog deer cases were attended to. Six were released in the wild, one is under care, while one was found dead on arrival.

An embankment was breached at Majuli, inundating several villages and roads. On Thursday, Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal will visit his home constituency Majuli to take stock of the situation.

By an immediate order, Jorhat district administration has suspended ferry services to and from Majuli since July 23, which continued till Monday evening. The people of Majuli have been completely cut off from the rest of the district in the past 48 hours.

As per report by Jorhat district administration, over 80,000 people in 140 villages and 6,200 hectares of crop areas in the river island have been affected by floods.   

The Water Resources department has informed that embankments were either turally breached or broken down by local people to channelize waters at 22 places in different districts of the State.

The Brahmaputra is also flowing above the danger level near Guwahati on Wednesday.

The Meteorology department has predicted more rainfall over the State in the next couple of days, which is likely to make the situation worse.

Meanwhile, the All Assam Students Union (AASU), in a statement, demanded a special package from the Central government to deal with the flood situation in the State. The students’ body also stated that flood and erosion in the State be declared a tiol problem.