Assam is battling the twin disasters of floods and coronavirus. The flood situation continues to deteriorate with the number of deaths going up to 75. Most of the rivers in the state are in spate, and the India Meteorological Department has forecast more rain in the coming days.
Over 40 lakh people in 27 of the 33 districts in the state are affected by the devastating floods. The Brahmaputra and eight other rivers in Assam are flowing above the danger level.
According to the Assam disaster management body, 3,371 villages are under flood waters and standing crops in 1.28 lakh hectares have been ruined. More than 44,000 have been moved to state relief camps.
Personnel of the State and National Disaster Relief Force have been moving stranded people to safety. Rescue work is being carried out late into the night also.
The worst hit districts in the state are Hojai, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong.
Many roads, bridges, culverts and other infrastructure have been damaged in floods and landslides across the state. Over 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park has been inundated and 66 wild animals including two rhinos have died, the forest department officials said.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited localities in Dhemaji on Tuesday and reviewed the flood situation. He also took stock of the situation in Lakhimpur and his home constituency Majuli. Mr Sonowal has directed officials to expedite repair work of the embankments.The floods have so far claimed more than 70 lives and displaced nearly 4 million people in 26 districts of the state.Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri on Friday said the flood-hit northeastern state of Assam needs immediate attention and assistance as it battles loss of lives and displacement of people in many of its submerged districts.
Seeking to draw the country's attention to the disaster that has hit the state amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Chhetri wrote on his twitter handle, "Along with the prayers, Assam needs as much attention and help as possible to recover from the floods it is under."
"There's been considerable loss of life - both man and animal, and I can only sincerely hope that the numbers don't rise."
The talismanic footballer is one of the first from the sporting fraternity to raise concerns around the floods in Assam.
Floods are a recurrent feature during the monsoons in Assam and have claimed many lives over the last many years as the government - both past and present - struggle to find ways to control the raging waters and bring down the death toll.
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