Guwahati, April 25 (PTI): Almost one lakh people have been affected across six districts in the first wave of floods in Assam. According to an official release by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), nearly one lakh people were suffering in Jorhat, Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Cachar and Charaideo districts.
Authorities have opened 40 relief camps in Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Charaideo where 7,412 inmates were taking shelter.
So far nearly 5,000 hectares of crop area have been inundated by flood water, the release said.
Currently, Burhidihing and Desang Naglamuraga rivers were flowing above the danger mark in Sivasagar, it said.
Army, NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed for search and rescue operations in flood affected areas of Charaideo district.
Relief materials have been distributed to flood affected people in Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Charaideo.
Meanwhile, train services over Lumding Silchar hill section, which resumed yesterday evening with the movement of goods train, had to be controlled again today due to further landslides at four places between Lumding and Badarpur. Accordingly train services in the section have been regulated till completion of restoration work, NF Railway officials said.
Weather condition continued to remain very inclement in affected areas as road communication remained disrupted to the Barak Valley.
Arunachal releases Rs 2 crore to Tawang district as relief
Itanagar, April 25 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh government on Monday released Rs 2 crore to Tawang district for relief and restoration work including ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of the deceased who died in landslides in the border district.
The government also released a relief fund of Rs 1 crore each to the flood-affected districts of Namsai, Lower, Subansiri, Changlang and Anjaw besides additional relief fund of Rs 30 lakh to all the DCs and Rs 10 lakh to all the ADC headquarters, an official report said here.
Chief Minister Kalikho Pul accompanied by in charge chief secretary Hage Khoda, disaster management commissioner Hage Kojeen and disaster management director Y W Ringu made an unsuccessful attempt to visit Tawang district on Sunday despite bad weather.
The team had to return back to Guwahati Airport due to inclement weather as packed cloud over the Bhutan Valley en-route to Tawang had blurred visibility and deterred further movement of the helicopter, the report said.
Pul said that occurrence of landslides and flash flood in the state is predominant as the state is situated in a seismically high risk zone frequented with heavy rainfall.
He called upon the people to learn a lesson from recent incidents of landslides at Tawang that caused loss of 18 lives and the water logging at Hotel PYBSS at Itanagar that blocked the National Highway 415 for several days due to obstruction of natural flow of drain water by randomly built houses at drains/nallahs, bypassing building laws in the state. "If the faults are not corrected in time and precautions are not taken, such high rise buildings are in danger and may collapse anytime risking lives of many people," he pointed out.
Manipur opens relief camps for rain-hit villagers
Imphal, April 25 (IANS): The Manipur government has started opening relief camps for villagers who were rendered homeless in the recent torrential rains and thunderstorms, an official said on Monday.
Official reports said that in the Oinam assembly constituency, over 3,307 houses were destroyed. Besides, the rains destroyed 2,000 houses in the Nambol assembly constituency and 220 houses in Imphal West.
Criticising the government over the delay in opening relief camps, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Rajkumar Shivachandra said: "The destruction of thousands of houses and other facilities is there for everyone to see. It is incomprehensible why the government had to wait for several days till Monday to open the relief camps."
Rain and hailstorms also destroyed vast paddy fields and vegetable farms in the state. Low-lying areas and many villages are inundated.
Officials told IANS on Monday that major rivers in the state are flowing just below the danger level. Parts of the state and the national highways are also submerged.
There is a fear about the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Manipur Health Minister D.K. Korungthang said the government will request the central government for a special package to cope with the situation.
