11 more people die in Assam floods, Amit Shah talks to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Sarma tweeted that Hon’ble Home Minister Amit Shah ji called twice since morning to know about the flood situation in Assam. He said that the Home Ministry will soon send a team of officials to assess the damage caused by the natural calamity. Thanks to them for their help.

GUWAHATI: With all major rivers in spate in Assam, the flood situation remains grim and more than 47 lakh people have been affected and 11 more lives have been lost. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to know the situation in the state. Assam has been in the grip of devastating floods for the past one week and 47,72,140 people have been affected in 32 of the 36 districts. According to the bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, the death toll rose to 82 after 11 more people died. Three people lost their lives in Darrang, two in Nagaon, one each in Cachar, Dibrugarh, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup and Lakhimpur. Two each in Udalguri and Kamrup and one person each in Cachar, Darrang and Lakhipur are said to be missing.

Sarma tweeted that Hon’ble Home Minister Amit Shah ji called twice since morning to know about the flood situation in Assam. He said that the Home Ministry will soon send a team of officials to assess the damage caused by the natural calamity. Thanks to them for their help.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said that Shah’s first call was to know about the flood situation and the second call was to inform that a central team would be sent soon for damage assessment. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, sought a central package of Rs 20,000 crore from the Prime Minister for relief and rehabilitation in those areas which have been devastated by floods in the last three years. He appealed to declare the problem of flood and soil erosion in the state as a national calamity.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed air-dropping of food and other relief materials in the areas severely affected by the floods. The officers provided this information. Sarma gave this direction after a review meeting with his cabinet colleagues and senior district officials earlier in the day. The dead included two policemen, including a police station in-charge of Nagaon district, who had gone to help the helpless people but were washed away in the flood waters. Their bodies were retrieved early Monday, officials said. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, 47,72,140 people are affected by the floods in 32 out of 36 districts.

Sarma held a digital meeting with his ministers, senior state government officials and deputy commissioners. He directed that top priority should be given to relief and rescue operations and there should be no delay. He said that where the flood situation is serious and the boats of Army, NDRF or SDRF have not reached, relief material should be dropped by air.

The Chief Minister said that for the next few days, the district officials should not be concerned with the rules of procedure, but should focus on providing relief to the affected people. “If some areas are not included in the relief manual, we will ensure that they come under the state-owned priority development schemes and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” he said.

He directed the Deputy Commissioners to keep the team of Health Department ready and ensure daily visit of doctors to the relief camps set up for the flood affected. He said that ambulances should be kept ready in advance to send patients in critical condition to nearby hospitals. He said that night shifts should be increased in all district hospitals and special care should be taken of senior citizens, women and children.

Sarma directed the officials to plan region-wise mega health camps with the help of nine medical colleges in the state to ensure that post-flood diseases are dealt with effectively. He directed the Deputy Commissioners of the districts to immediately start the assessment of the damage as soon as the flood water recedes and complete the work at the earliest.

He said that except for essential flood related works in the State Secretariat, all the Guardian Ministers and Secretaries should be in their respective district headquarters to supervise the flood relief works. According to a bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the state has been battling devastating floods for the past one week, affecting 5,137 villages in 127 revenue circles and 33 districts.

Around 1.90 lakh people have taken shelter in 744 relief camps. Relief material has been distributed from 403 temporary centers to the affected people who did not go to the camps. Officials said that NDRF, SDRF, police and other agencies have so far evacuated around 30,000 people to safer places.

According to the bulletin of the Central Water Commission, the Kopili river is flowing above the danger mark at Kampur in Nagaon district and the Brahmaputra river at Nimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, Kamrup, Goalpara and Dhubri. Subansiri, Puthimari, Pagaladiya, Manas, Beki Barak and Kushiyara rivers are also flowing above the danger mark. According to the bulletin, in the last 24 hours, floods have been reported from urban areas of Barpeta, Cachar, Darrang, Goalpara, Kamrup (Metro), Karimganj, Nalbari and Udalguri, while Cachar, Dima-Hasao, Goalpara, Hailakandi, Kamrup (M. ) and heavy rains have caused landslides in Karimganj districts.

Eight animals – seven deer and a leopard have died in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) after drowning and being hit by a vehicle. A KNP official said that the forest officials have rescued ten others including eight deer and a python.