GUWAHATI, July 3: Assam continues to grapple with a severe flood crisis, affecting 11.50 lakh people across 23 districts, as the water level of major rivers, including the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, flows above the danger mark, an official report said.
The death toll in this year’s floods, landslides and storms has increased to 48.
On Tuesday, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Golaghat district following breach of embankments, inspected flood-hit areas, interacted with the suffering population and held meetings with officials to provide relief and rehabilitation to people reeling under the deluge.
The current second wave of floods have affected Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst hit with over 1.65 lakh people suffering, followed by Darrang with more than 1.47 lakh people and Golaghat with almost 1.07 lakh people reeling under floodwaters, the report said.
The flood scenario in Kaziranga National Park is also critical with vast tracts of forests inundated and a baby rhino drowning in floodwaters.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by floodwaters in most of the affected districts, the report added.
Meanwhile, eleven animals, mostly hog deer, have drowned while 65 other animals have been rescued from floodwaters in Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
Forty-two hog deer, two otters and sambars each and a Scops owl have been rescued, the official of the national park said.
Of the 233 forest department camps in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, 173 have been inundated by gushing floodwaters, up from 167 on Tuesday, he said.
In the Agoratoli range of the national park, 24 of the 34 camps have been inundated, while 51 of 58 camps in the central range, 37 of 39 in Bagori, 13 of 25 in Burapahar and seven of nine in Bokakhat range are under floodwaters.
Altogether nine camps have been vacated by forest personnel so far, including two in Agoratoli, three in Bokakhat, two in the central range and one each in Biswanath and Nagaon wildlife divisions.
Forest department employees, including security personnel, stay in the camps inside the national park to conduct patrolling for the protection of flora and fauna. (PTI)
