Guwahati: Incessant rain, landslide, and floods have crippled Assam, and over 6.6 lakhs of people have been affected in 27 districts of the state. Nine people have lost their lives so far in the first wave of floods this year.
Hill district Dima Hasao remains the most affected area where a devastating landslide created havoc after a heavy downpour continued for more than a week. Rail and road communication with the hill district has been cut off by a muddy landslide that has continued for five days. Rail connectivity with Barak valley, Tripura and Mizoram are also cut off as landslides uprooted rail lines in dozens of places in the Dima Hasao district. So far, 27 districts and 1413 revenue circles have been affected by floods, with more than 6.6 lakhs people under the grip of floods.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting through video-conferencing with his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma and appealed to the latter to facilitate the smooth movement of relief goods and materials being sent by the government of Assam to the flood-hit Barak valley districts through Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister is known to have assured the government of Assam of all support and cooperation from his side in the measures to ensure the availability of essential commodities for the flood-affected population of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.
Due to the severance of road connectivity between the Brahmaputra and Barak valley owing to landslides and flood-water inundating the highways within Assam, the majority of the relief materials to the Barak Valley are being sent through the roadways passing through the hill state of Meghalaya.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma directed the concerned officials and departments to ensure no shortage of essential commodities among the population in the flood-affected districts. The Chief Minister also asked the deputy commissioner of Cachar to stockpile essential food and other commodities for at least 15 days, owing to the grim flood scenario in the district. He also directed officials to set up “24×7 Control Rooms” for the three districts of Barak valley to ensure minute-to-minute monitoring and quickest responses to requests from flood-affected quarters. The Chief Minister also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat district to urgently dispatch essential relief materials to the worst-affected Cachar district by Thursday. Concerned at the road blockades owing to landslides and flood-water inundating national and state highways, the Chief Minister also directed the Commissioner of Public Works Department to do the needful for smooth vehicular movements on those roads at the earliest.
The senior officials of the Army and Air Force who were present in today’s series of meetings also informed the Chief Minister about steps the two forces have taken to help the administration deal with the impact of the flood.
