Assam floods: 2.33 lakh people still in relief camps

 Slight improvement in flood situation

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Barring Silchar, Morigaon, Darrang and a few other districts, the flood situation in the state continued to gradually improve on Saturday even as 2.33 lakh people are confined to relief camps and four more persons lost their lives. The overall death toll in the current bout of floods is now 121.

Meanwhile, last night a speeding vehicle mowed down eight people who taking shelter beside the National Highway-37 at Dharamtul in the Morigaon district. One person died and seven others, including a child, were injured and hospitalized.

The situation remained grim in Silchar. At the initiative of the Deputy Commissioner, drones were used to drop water bottles among the people stranded due to floods. The IAF also continued to drop food items in the affected areas.

According to the flood report of the ASDMA, 27 districts remain affected by floods as on today. Altogether 25.10 lakh people of 2,894 villages are still affected by floods. As on date, 2.33 lakh inmates are taking shelter in 637 relief camps in various parts of the state.

Meanwhile, In a positive development, this year Central teams are visiting the state right in the midst of onslaught of floods.

During the previous bout of floods this year, which affected mainly the Dima Hasao and a few other districts, an inter-ministerial Central team from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had visited Assam in May last. That team was led by Ravinesh Kumar, Financial Advisor to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Now, another MHA inter-ministerial team will arrive in Assam on June 30 for a four-day assessment visit.

In previous years, Central teams used to visit the state much later after the abatement of floods and return of the situation to normalcy. As a result, previous Central teams were unable to gauge the actual devastation caused during the peak period of floods.

According to Government sources, the Centre has informed Dispur that the new inter-ministerial team will be led by Harsh Gupta, IAS, who is the Project Director of the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP). After arriving at Guwahati on June 30, the team will split into two teams. One team will visit the three districts of the Barak Valley – Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj – which are the worst affected areas in the ongoing bout of floods. The second team will visit the Nalbari, Barpeta, Bajali, Kamrup and Morigaon districts.

Upon completion of the inspection visits, the teams will reunite and meet Assam's Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and other senior officials of several relevant departments on June 2. The State Government will utilize the occasion to submit its internal assessment of the extent of damage caused by floods and landslides.

The team will return to New Delhi on June 3. Thereafter, the team is expected to submit its interim report to the Centre.

The quantum of additional flood-relief assistance from the Centre will depend on the recommendations of the inter-ministerial team.

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