HT Correspondent
AGARTALA, Aug 22: The ongoing severe floods in Tripura, which began on August 19, have impacted more than 17 lakh people, with 65,400 individuals taking refuge in relief camps, while the death toll has risen to 14.
According to Revenue Secretary Brijesh Pandey, continuous and heavy rainfall over the past four days has caused river levels to remain critically high across the state. Tripura recorded some of its highest rainfall figures in the last 24 hours on August 22, particularly in South Tripura District (Bogafa: 493.6 mm), Sepahijala District (Sonamura: 293.4 mm), West Tripura District (Agartala: 233 mm), and Gomati District (Udaipur: 155 mm).
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“The entire state is reeling under the flood’s impact, with Gomati, South Tripura, Unakoti, and West Tripura Districts being the most affected,” said Pandey.
He described the situation as unprecedented and confirmed it is being closely monitored at the highest level of government.
Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha held a review meeting this afternoon to assess the ongoing relief efforts, with the Chief Secretary, Disaster Management Secretary, and senior officials in attendance. State authorities are coordinating with central agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Indian Air Force, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), to mitigate the disaster’s effects.
River levels have risen above the danger mark at six locations in Dhalai, Khowai, South Tripura, West Tripura, North Tripura, and Unakoti Districts. Since August 19, district authorities have set up 450 relief camps to shelter more than 65,400 individuals. Emergency supplies such as food, drinking water, and medical aid are being distributed at these camps.
Personnel from various departments, including Rural Development, Water Resources, Power, PWD, Forest, Police, Fire Services, and Paramilitary Forces, are working round the clock to aid affected communities.
Pandey confirmed that 14 people have died so far, with two still missing.
Meanwhile, the state’s Relief, Rehabilitation, and Disaster Management Department reported significant damage to infrastructure, including 844 damaged poles, 151 transformers, 310 kilometres of conductors, and two substations. Landslides have occurred in 2,032 locations, with 1,789 already cleared, and restoration work is ongoing.
Of the 1,952 road erosion sites, 579 have been restored, and 153 bulldozers are deployed statewide to clear debris. Around 200 field engineers are actively working to restore services despite ongoing rainfall disruptions.
Bus and railway services have been suspended from Chandrapur, Nagerjala, and Radhanagar.
Preliminary estimates suggest that 5,000 hectares of vegetables and 1.20 lakh hectares of paddy fields remain submerged, causing significant crop damage.
To assist in rescue operations, the state has deployed 26 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from all 14 Tripura State Rifles battalions, and four teams of NDRF have been actively working in South Tripura, West Tripura, Unakoti, and Khowai Districts. An additional four NDRF teams, comprising 120 personnel airlifted from Arunachal Pradesh, have been deployed to Gomati, West Tripura, and Sepahijala Districts.
Over 2,000 volunteers from Civil Defense and Aapda Mitra are assisting with relief and rescue efforts. The central government has also provided two helicopters for airlifting stranded people in Gomati and South Tripura districts, with aerial rescues and food drops taking place in Amarpur.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state, issuing a red alert for the entire state today and for four districts tomorrow.
