Assam flood situation critical, 13 rescued by IAF; over 6.5 lakh people affected

Guwahati: Assam's flood situation remained critical on Tuesday, with over 6.5 lakh people reeling from the second wave of flooding, as the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 13 stranded fishermen from the severely-hit Dibrugarh district, an official said.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) had requested the IAF to rescue the fishermen from Hatia Ali, a 'char' (sandbar) area in Dibrugarh, who were stranded in the floodwaters.

''ASDMA requested IAF to airlift these 13 stranded fishermen. All the expenditure for airlifting the people will be borne by ASDMA'', the official said.

Earlier on Sunday, the IAF had rescued 8 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and a revenue official from Jonai in Dhemaji district when they were stranded in another sandbar area during relief operations.

Dibrugarh district has been severely affected in the current wave with the major town in Upper Assam inundated for the sixth consecutive day.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Monday that the situation in Dibrugarh was critical with the Brahmaputra flowing above the danger level and machines unable to drain out the water from the town.

The flood situation in the state turned critical since Sunday following incessant rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh and a population of over 6.50 lakh affected in 19 districts.

The death toll has risen to 45 in this year's flood, storm and landslides.

The affected districts in the current wave are Kamrup, Golaghat, Majuli, Lakhimpur, Karimganj, Cachar, Dhemaji, Morigaon, Udalguri, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Darrang, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Biswanath and Jorhat have been inundated by flood waters.

Lakhimpur remained the worst-hit district with 1,43,983 people reeling under flood waters, followed by Dhemaji with 1,01,333 affected people and Cachar with 66,195 affected population.

Altogether 8,142 displaced people were taking shelter in 72 relief camps, with another 64 relief distribution centres also functional.

In the famed Kaziranga National Park, 95 out of the 233 forest camps have been inundated with the Golaghat district administration issuing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) restricting the movement of vehicular traffic on NH-37 (New NH-715) and vehicle speed to between 20 to 40 km/hour.

The major rivers flowing above the danger level are Brahmaputra (Tezpur), Subansiri (Bedatighat), Dikhou (Sivasagar), Disang (Nanglamuraghat), Burhi Dihing (Chenimari and Khowang)), Jia-Bharali (Nt Road Crossing), Beki (Road Bridge), Kushiyara (Karimganj). Several agencies, including NDRF, SDRF, army, air force and local administration, have been pressed into rescue operations in the affected areas, the bulletin said.