Villagers cross floodwaters on country boats in Ashighar village, Morigaon district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Rain-triggered floods and mudslides have left a trail of destruction across northeastern India, killing at least a dozen people and affecting over a million, officials said Saturday. (AP Photo)
The flood situation in Assam continues to worsen with new areas flooding every day even as the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has said that 25 districts of the state were under water.
More than 26 lakh people have been displaced from their homes and flash floods have killed at least nine in the past 72 hours.
According to the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), there is a likelihood of more rainfall in the state in the next 48 hours.
"Over 20,000 people are living in 234 relief camps opened by the district administration," an official of the ASDMA said on Saturday while adding that 51,722 hectares of agricultural land has also been submerged so far affecting the farmers.
The flood situation in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur remains the worst where most of the people have been affected. Several houses, roads and bridges have also been damaged after breach of embankments led to flooding in many areas, officials said.
It is reported that an amount of Rs 56 crore has been released to different districts to help flood-affected areas.
The incessant rains have also affected the movement of trains in Assam and the Northeast Frontier Railway suspended train movement on the Lumding-Badarpur Hill section cutting off five states including Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya from the country's railway map till July 16.
"At least 15 trains have either been cancelled or terminated due to the suspension of the train movement on the stretch," said Northeast Frontier Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer, PJ Sharma while adding that movement of trains on the section is likely to resume after July 16.
"Settlement occurred on tracks between Jatinga Lumpur - New Harangajao station in Lumding - Badarpur hill section on Friday due to incessant rains making it unsuitable for train movement. The repairing work has already started. But heavy rain is continuing in that area making the soil loose. It is expected that the restoration work will be completed by July 16," Sharma said.
(With inputs from agencies)
