A fresh wave of floods in Assam has affected 3.55 lakh people in 15 districts with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal issuing a red alert and calling for intensifying relief and rescue operations.
Sonowal, who is in Delhi, directed Chief Secretary V K Pipersenia on Thursday to hold a video conference and talk to deputy commissioners of the affected districts to assess the intensity of the situation and undertake relief and rescue operations, a government release in Guwahati said.
Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts have been affected by the fresh wave of floods following the one last month.
An Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report said 3.55 lakh people in 781 villages of 15 districts of the north eastern state were hit by the deluge caused by incessant rains in the upper reaches of Brahmaputra river.
The report said Brahmaputra, Buridihing, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Puthimari and Sankosh rivers were flowing above danger levels and have submerged more than 20,000 hectares of cropland.
Nearly 14,000 flood displaced people are taking shelter in 39 relief centres, the ASDMA report added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state on 1 August and announced a package of Rs 2,350 crore for the entire northeast to deal with the flood situation.
While Modi announced Rs 2,000 crore to mitigate the flood damage, he also instituted a corpus of Rs 100 crore for setting up an expert committee to study the course of the Brahmaputra so that the recurring floods can be resolved.
He announced an additional Rs 250 crore for flood relief operations in Assam.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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