Guwahati: With the rising water level of the mighty river Brahmaputra, the flood situation in Assam deteriorated further on Friday with nearly 86,000 people hit by the deluge across seven districts, an ASDMA report says.
According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Bongaigaon is the worst affected district, where almost 53,000 people are in distress, followed by Dhemaji (over 16,000) and Chirang (over 13,200).
At present, 174 villages are underwater and 5,147 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.
Incessant rains in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh raised the water level of the river Brahmaputra, causing an overflow of waters in its tributaries. The fresh floodwater drowned almost 92 villages in Bongaigaon, 42 villages in Chirang districts in lower Assam and 26 villages in Dhemaji district in North Assam. Other flood-affected districts are Biswanath, Sonitput, Kokrajhar and Dibrugarh.
The release of excess water from the Kurichu dam in neighbouring Bhutan raised the water level of the Aai river in the Bongaigaon district causing sudden flooding in Bongaigaon and Chirang districts.
Taking precautions of the rising water level of river Brahmaputra, the ferry services between river island district Majuli and Jorhat have been suspended until further order. In another matter of concern, it is said that the water level in the lower Subansiri dam also rose and reports of water overflow panicked the people in the downstream areas. But authorities stated that there is nothing to worry about the rising water level and it is under control.
The district authorities are running 34 relief camps and distribution centres in four flood-affected districts. Almost 6,592 people have taken shelter in these flood relief camps.
Many roads, bridges, culverts and other infrastructure have been damaged by floodwaters in the affected districts, district authorities said.
