Assam Floods | Seven more dead, toll rises to 75; 3.32 lakh still affected across seven districts

The toll in the Assam flood has risen to 75 with seven more deaths reported in the last 24 hours even though the number of affected people has decreased to 3.32 lakh, officials said on Wednesday. The state government has increased the ex gratia amount to the families of the deceased to Rs 9 lakh each and relaxed norms for availing the compensation, they said. The seven districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Kamrup Metropolitan are still reeling under the deluge, affecting 21 revenue circles and 622 villages, the officials said.

The flood-hit population was at 3.32 lakh, and Charaideo was the worst-hit district with 1.42 lakh people impacted, followed by Sivasagar (97,074) and Jorhat (57,371). The seven fatalities on Tuesday were reported from Nazria revenue circle of Sivasagar district, taking the toll in the floods this year to 75, the officials said. On Monday, six districts had been affected by the deluge, with 4.45 lakh people impacted. Altogether 81 relief camps were operational in the affected districts, in which 32,477 displaced people have taken shelter. Another 34 relief distribution centres were also functioning.

Multiple agencies, including the Army, Air Force, NDRF, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services and civil volunteers, continued to carry out relief and rescue operations. A crop area of 45,341.98 hectares has been submerged, while damage to various infrastructure like houses, cow sheds, schools and anganwadi centres was also reported from across the flood-hit districts. The intra circle roaming (ICR) facility has been extended in the flood-affected areas of Sivasagar until 11:59 PM on July 30 or until further orders, to ensure uninterrupted mobile phone connectivity, the officials said. The ICR facility will also be "available to all in-roamers in the district, enabling subscribers of different telecom service providers to stay connected even if their own network is not connected", one of the officials said.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said special attention was being given to affected children to help them tide through the difficult times. “Creating a congenial atmosphere for children in relief camps remains our focus. Dedicated spaces for learning & playing are helping ensure that the impact of floods does not interrupt their childhood and they are not adversely affected due to the ongoing situation,” the CM said in a post on social media on Wednesday, sharing photos of children engaged in learning activities in relief camps. Sarma, in a Facebook Live on Tuesday evening, had announced relaxation in norms for providing ex gratia to the next of kin of those killed or missing in the floods this year.

He said mandatory submission of post-mortem report to avail the one-time grant from the government has been waived, with a certificate from the circle officer to suffice. “Over and above the Rs 4 lakh ex gratia per victim that is paid at present, we have decided to give additional Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased from the CM's Relief Fund,” he said.

In case of people missing in floods, Sarma said it has been decided that an ex gratia of Rs 9 lakh will be granted to the victims' families if the bodies are not found within a month, with the circle officer authorised to issue the necessary certificate. For families severely affected in the four worst-hit districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, the government will provide an interim amount of Rs 15,000, which can be utilised for their household needs, the chief minister said. For students of Sivasagar and Charaideo districts, the government will once again grant aid for free uniforms and textbooks, besides providing a monetary grant to buy books for higher secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate students.