Floods continue to wreak havoc

Over 1.2 cr. people marooned in Bihar & Assam; Meghalaya affected badly

Indian residents wade through flood waters in Balurghat in West Bengal on August 17, 2017. At least 221 people have died and more than 1.5 million have been displaced by monsoon flooding across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, officials said August 15, as rescuers scoured submerged villages for the missing. / AFP PHOTO / STR

 

The flood situation in Bihar and Assam remained grim with 36 more flood-related deaths reported today from the two States, where over 1.2 crore people are marooned.

Food casualties mounted to 98 in Bihar, with 26 more people losing their lives. The deluge has affected nearly 93 lakh people in 15 districts, officials said.

Assam’s third wave

The floods claimed 10 more lives in Assam. The toll in the third wave of floods in the State has risen to 49. So far, 133 people have died in flood-related incidents this year.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said 31.55 lakh people are affected at present in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts. Dhubri is the worst affected with 8.13 lakh people hit.

The Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger mark at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri.

W.B. improves overall

In West Bengal, 17 more people died in the floods, although the overall situation improved on Thursday, officials said.

“We are monitoring the situation round-the-clock,”an official said, adding there is no dearth of relief materials in the districts.

Meanwhile, the State government has written to the Civil Aviation Ministry on the “exorbitant” prices of tickets by various airlines between Kolkata and Bagdogra, the lone functioning airport in north Bengal.

Rain in U.P.

In Uttar Pradesh, at least 15 people have died due to flooding in the Balrampur and Bahraich districts over the past three days. Barabanki, Gonda, Siddharth Nagar, Mahrajganj, Balrampur and Bahraich districts are reeling under floods following heavy rains. Relief committees have been set up to give succour to those affected.

The Ghaghra and Saryu rivers that pass through the district are flowing above the danger mark at several places.

Besides the police, National Disaster Response Force and Seema Suraksha Bal personnel are helping the administration carry out relief and rescue operations.

Meghalaya suffers

In Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, 1.2 lakh people have been affected by floods.

“A total of 136 villages in Selsella block, along with three-four villages in the Tikrikilla blocks have been affected by the recent flood,” district deputy commissioner Pravin Bakshi said.

The water level in the Jingiram river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, continues to rise, inundating villages over the weekend. Twenty-four relief camps have been set up to provide help to the affected.