Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 18
Rengma Naga and Karbi villages in the extremely underdeveloped areas of Karbi Anglong, Assam, have been severely affected by floods due to a cloudburst in the wee hours of August 16.
In the Rengma Naga areas of Assam (also known as Western Rengma areas), the floods have led to the destruction of houses and paddy fields while a four year old girl child drowned.
The floods began at about 2:00am of August 16 after a cloudburst, leading to the swelling of the Khanari stream that flows through the Rengma Naga areas of Assam. The flooding began from Richangari village (Greater Khanari), spreading to Khanari village, Khonwani village, Ridongünyu village and Phentsero village. On the other side of the stream, Borlangso village was flooded.
“People did not know about the cloudburst till the floods began to reach their houses in the early morning hours,” said Phenpiga H. Rengma, President of the Rengma Naga Students’ Union (RNSU), Karbi Anglong, Assam.
As a result, while adults could escape somehow, four year old Shayen Nyenthang who could not run away from the flooding waters at Khonwani village drowned. Eight paddy fields in Khonwani were also washed away. Meanwhile, three paddy fields were lost to the floods in Richangari, seven houses, 30 paddy fields, 29 cows and nine pigs drowned in Khanari with one water pump and the Lower Primary Government School washed away, three paddy fields went under water in Ridongünyu, 15 paddy fields drowned in Phentsero and a large number of chicken and pigs drowned in Borlangso with paddy fields washed away.
Karbi villages in the area, namely Mai Gaon, Lakhiram Gaon and Hanse Gaon, were also badly affected by the flooding waters though the extent of damage is not immediately known.
“People have now moved to higher ground and made temporary camps in the villages,” informed Rengma, from the little information the RNSU could access through the day.
Despite facing violent conflict in 2013 that could not be contained due to ill connectivity of the region and led to large scale internal displacement of people, the region has not been given much attention. Civil society organizations like the RNSU have been in discussions with the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) administration since August 17 in order to get medical and material relief to the area but lack of roads and communication technology has hampered their movement alongside timely and accurate information from the areas.
A team led by the Assistant Revenue Officer of the KAAC left this morning to assess the ground situation but connection could not be established with them later in the day. A medical and veterinary team is expected to leave for the affected areas soon, informed the RNSU President.
“So far no relief materials could be provided to the people as the only road that connects these villages with the rest of the State is totally cut off due to the flooding river,” stated Aga Rengma, President of the Western Rengma Students’ Union, Nagaland (WRSUN) in a press release today.
Both the RNSU and the WRSUN have requested government authorities to either clear the road at the earliest or consider dropping relief material by using helicopter services in case the roads cannot be immediately cleared. Further, all concerned citizens, governments and non government organizations have been requested to extend help in cash or kind to the affected villages.
