Guwahati: In a tragic incident amidst incessant rain in the state, four members of a family along with a three-year-old boy were buried alive by a rain-triggered landslide at Gainachora (Bendargool) village, under Badarpur police station in the Barak Valley district of Karimganj on Tuesday midnight, official sources informed on Wednesday.
Among the deceased include a woman, her three daughters, and a three-year-old boy belonging to another family, who were reportedly asleep when the landslide occurred and damaged the house they were in.
“We were informed about a landslide at Gainachora (Bendargool) under Badarpur police station at 12.45 am. On receipt of the information, SDRF staff and AAPDA Mitras were rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation. After three hours of the rescue operation, five bodies were recovered,” a statement issued by the Karimganj deputy commissioner said.
The victims have been identified as Roymun Nessa (55); her daughters – Sahida Khanam (18); Jahida Khanam (16) and Hamida Khanam (11), all residents of Gainachora (Bendargool). The three-year-old child has been identified as Mehdi Hassan, son of Mahimuddin, a resident of Tikorpara village.
The devastating landslide is believed to have been caused by incessant heavy rain in the district over the past few days, reportedly triggering a wall collapse and damaging their house.
Notably, heavy rain over the past few days has worsened the flood situation in Assam, with Karimganj district the worst affected in terms of population till Wednesday evening.
To date, the overall flood-related death toll in the state during the current wave of floods stood at 26, with one more flood-related death reported from Hailakandi district in Barak Valley on Tuesday.
The flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) reported that a population of over 2.96 lakh has been affected by the deluge, with 2,45,379 people bearing the brunt of the deluge in Karimganj district alone.
As many as 19 districts – Kamrup, South Salmara, Goalpara, Nagaon, Bongaigaon, Lakhimpur, Hojai, Darrang, Nalbari, Karimganj, Udalguri, Tamulpur, Hailakandi, Biswanath, Barpeta, Cachar, Baksa, Bajali and Sonitpur – remain affected by floods.
There seems to be little respite in the next three days with the India Meteorological Department predicting isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Assam and the rest of the Northeastern states till Saturday.
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Moreover, urban floods have been reported from various localities in Kokrajhar, Kamrup, Cachar, Kamrup (Metro), and Nalbari.
In Kamrup Metro, intermittent showers have caused waterlogging and artificial floods in several low-lying areas like Rukminigaon, Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Tarun Nagar, Sijubari, Hatigaon, Wireless, Kahilipara near SBI, Greenland Path, Saneki Path, Ghoramara Chariali, Rupkonwar Path, Swahid Dilip Huzuri Path, Chandmari, Anuradha, Bamunimaidam, Lachit Nagar, Gandhi Basti, Islampur and Sarania.
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