The flood situation in Assam worsened in the last 24 hours, affecting 24.21 lakh people across 30 of the State’s 35 districts by Friday evening.
Officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said no loss of human lives was recorded from the affected districts although an eight-year-old boy was reported missing in Guwahati.They said two persons, including a male child, died in a rain-induced landslide in the Jorabat area bordering Assam and Meghalaya.
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At least 52 people have died in two waves of flood since May. Assam has had up to five waves of floods in the past.
“Moderate to heavy rainfall last [June 4 and 5] night added to the woes of the people. Rescue workers shifted many people to safe areas and the district officials have been providing relief materials adequately,” an ASDMA spokesperson said.
Above danger mark
The data provided by the ASDMA on Friday evening said the Brahmaputra and 12 other rivers, including southern Assam’s Barak, were flowing above the danger mark in several places.
“The number of affected people across 30 districts shot up by more than three lakh overnight. We had to increase the number of relief camps from 247 on Thursday to 273 to accommodate 47,103 flood-affected people, an increase of more than 8,000 in the last 24 hours,” the spokesperson said.
Western Assam’s Dhubri continued to be the worst affected district with 7.76 lakh people displaced followed by northern Assam’s Darrang (1.86 lakh) and southern Assam’s Cachar (1.75 lakh).
Officials of the 1,307.49 sq. km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in eastern Assam said the number of inundated anti-poaching camps came down from 95 on Thursday to 75 on Friday but the water level was high enough to drown three one-horned rhinos during the intervening period.
The rhinos were among 77 animals — 73 hog deer and an otter pup — killed in the park so far due to drowning or health complications after rescue. Eleven hog deer that died were among 94 animals that were rescued.
Photo: Kaziranga National Park authorities
Meanwhile, the Golaghat district administration has regulated the timing of commercial vehicles using National Highway 715 skirting the southern boundary of the Kaziranga National Park.
According to a notification on Friday, commercial vehicles will not be allowed on the Kaziranga stretch of the highway from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. Private and commercial passenger vehicles have been allowed to ply day and night but at regulated speeds (up to 40 km per hour) and “under piloting” by police and forest staff.
