India: Northeast Flood Situation Remains Grim
By UCA News
The current spell of floods and landslides claimed 77 lives in Assam, while 75,000 people were rendered homeless in Meghalaya.
However, there was some relief in Arunachal Pradesh where the rivers showed a receding trend.
An official Sunday said that in Assam 61 people died in floods and 16 in landslides, while six persons were reported missing.
The report said all the 27 districts have been affected by floods while landslides have occurred in three districts.
It said the Brahmaputra and the Kapili rivers were flowing above danger level at various places.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi are slated to visit the state Monday to take stock of the situation.
The government report said 2,166 villages across 113 revenue circles in the state were hit and over 1.9 million people affected.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed in 16 areas and rescue operations are on in nine districts.
Large segments of the Kaziranga National Park remained under water. In Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, 80 per cent of the area inhabited by rhinos is under water.
Meanwhile in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills region, around 75,000 people were Sunday left homeless as flood-swollen Brahmaputra and Jingiram rivers submerged hundreds of villages, officials said.
“So far no casualty has been reported. A general alert has been sounded in the area,” Pravin Bakshi, West Garo Hills district administrator said.
Over 14,500 houses in the affected areas were either completely under water or were partly submerged and was unfit and unsafe to use, he said.
Life boats have been procured from the security agencies in the area and pressed into service to evacuate the stranded.
The flood situation remains grim even as there are no reports of further rise in water level till late Sunday evening, officials said.
With improvement in weather conditions,the flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh is limping back to normalcy.
Majority of the rivers in this land-locked state are showing a receding trend in the past two days.
Source: UCAN India
