Guwahati: Amidst the deluge that has wreaked havoc in Assam and other Northeastern states over the past few weeks, Assam chief minister on Thursday asserted that the flood situation would be under control if there was no further rain in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibet.
“The situation is under control, and if there are no further rains in Arunachal and South Tibet, things will improve,” Chief Minister Sarma said.
“Be it funds or the support of NDRF and armed forces, the central government is standing completely with the people of Assam,” he assured.
Notably, to ensure proper supervision of the post-flood management process, the chief minister has directed the Cabinet ministers to be stationed in various districts for three days.
Sarma will soon lead a team of ministers to take stock of the situation in flood-affected Barak Valley for three to four days.
The chief minister had on Wednesday said the flood water level in the state has started receding and that the government has been working round the clock to ensure that no more embankments were breached.
It may be mentioned that in the wake of rising river water levels triggered by heavy rain in the state, several embankments have been breached in Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon, and Majuli districts.
“Water levels are receding and we are working round the clock to ensure no further embankment breaches occur. In a week, the situation should improve,” the chief minister said.
He further stated that a sudden cloudburst had led to a rise in the water level even as the state government had taken measures to mitigate the impact of the situation in vulnerable areas.
“The administration is monitoring the situation round the clock to ensure that embankments were reinforced and flooding prevented,” he said.
On Thursday, the chief minister visited the flood-affected areas of Pandu here and took stock of the situation at Shiv Mandir sluice gate, BBC Colony from Pandu Port Road, and Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate.
He inspected the drains along the Pandu Port Road and directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority to take appropriate measures to drain the water accumulated there.
Thereafter, he visited the sluice gate at BBC Colony on Pandu Port Road and the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate.
In the absence of a guard wall at the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate due to which the flood waters of the Brahmaputra inundated some areas, the chief minister directed the water resources department to construct the guard wall as soon as possible.
While talking to the media, he said that appropriate steps would be taken to solve the flood problem in these areas. He said the water resources department and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority have been directed to address the issues causing flood in the area including the construction of a sluice gate.
Later in the day, the chief minister visited flood-affected Majuli and inspected the breach point of the embankment at Jugunidhari village. He also visited Lakhimpur where he took stock of the embankment at Matmara Gaon Panchayat at Bandana in Dhakuakhana. Notably, geo tubes and mattress technology have been used to strengthen the embankment.
On Tuesday, Sarma had also taken a boat ride to reach the area at Bankuwal at Bokakhat sub-division in Golaghat district where the current flood breached a point of an embankment. As a result of the breach, around 72 villages have been inundated.
The chief minister interacted with the flood-affected people taking shelter on the embankment and took note of the flood-induced damage.
Later, he visited the temporary relief camp set up at Kamargaon Higher Secondary School and took stock of the relief materials, including facilities being provided to the camp inmates.
Kaziranga animals
Thirty hog deer and an otter pup were reported to have died in flood-affected Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, even as 82 animals of the park have been rescued, a park official informed.
According to a report on the rescue and release of animals of the park on Thursday evening, altogether 73 hog deer were rescued of which 23 hog deer died owing to drowning amidst the rising water level, while seven hog deer died under care.
“Twenty-eight hog deer have been treated and released while 15 others are currently under treatment. Besides, two sambar deer and one Indian hare were treated and released into the wild,” the report shared by the park’s field director informed.
Among other affected animals under treatment at the park are one otter pup, one rhino calf, one jungle cat, and two scop owls.
Meanwhile, several parts of Kaziranga National Park remain affected by the floodwaters with a total of 95 camps out of 233 camps at the park submerged (up to five feet of water) as of Thursday evening.
The river water level at Pasighat, Dibrugarh, and Dhansirimukh is below the danger level while the water level at Numaligarh, Nimatighat, and Tezpur is above the danger level.
It may be mentioned that two waves of deluge have wreaked havoc in the state over the past month, and 46 flood-related deaths apart from one urban flood-related death have been reported in the state till Wednesday evening.
As many as 16.25 lakh people in 29 districts have been affected by the second wave of floods, prompting the state Cabinet on Wednesday to gear up monitoring of flood relief and rescue operations in the affected districts.
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In Nagaon, a population of over 3.86 lakh has been affected while over 2.62 lakh people and 1.91 lakh people have been affected in Karimganj and Darrang respectively.
As far as infrastructure damaged by the floods, 40 embankments have been breached; 60 embankments have been affected, while as many as 922 roads and 52 bridges have been damaged by the deluge till Wednesday evening.
Also Read | Assam: Forest Dept. & IFAW-WTI rescue wildlife affected by Kaziranga floods