Assam floods worsen, over 50,000 affected as Centre assures full support

The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Monday with one person missing and over 50,000 people reeling under the deluge across five districts, an official bulletin said. Till Sunday, over 22,000 people were suffering in flood waters across six districts of the state. In the morning, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to discuss the flood situation in parts of the state and assured him of full support in dealing with the crisis. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person was swept away by gushing waters at Jonai sub-division in Dhemaji district. The report said more than 45,500 people are affected due to the floods in Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur and Nalbari districts. Dhemaji is the worst hit with over 41,000 people suffering, followed by Dibrugarh with almost 4,000 people and Chirang with nearly 800 people reeling under flood waters, it added. Shah sought to know from the CM the extent of damage, if any, caused by the swelling rivers of the state, and offered all help from the Centre in handling the situation, officials said. Acknowledging the gesture, Sarma said in a post on X, "I thank Hon'ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji for his phone call and enquiring about the flood situation in Dhemaji." The CM briefed Shah on the relief and rehabilitation measures presently underway in the district. "He (Shah) has also assured us all possible support and assistance from the Government of India to deal with this situation," Sarma said. He said that Water Resources Minister Susanta Borgohain and Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta have been directed to station themselves in Dhemaji and oversee the entire relief process. "Our priority is to ensure relief and rescue reach all those affected. We are closely monitoring the situation... We are taking early precautions by strengthening anti-erosion measures to reduce any impact arising out of heavy rainfall," Sarma said. He said that while conducting field inspections, the ministers are emphasising ensuring all relief materials reach the people staying in relief camps and efforts are ongoing to restore disrupted transportation systems in various places. The ASDMA said that the administration has been operating 12 relief camps and relief distribution centres in two districts, taking care of 655 displaced people at present. The authorities have distributed 519.8 quintals of rice, 93.52 quintals of dal, 28.2 quintals of salt and 2,815.57 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims of the state during the last 24 hours. At present, 257 villages are under water, and 4,278.52 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said. Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in different districts of the state. The Disang river is now flowing above the danger mark at Nanglamuraghat. On account of widespread flooding, over 76,161 domestic animals and poultry are affected across the state.