GUWAHATI: Because of incessant rains in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Bhutan, the water-level of the Brahmaputra and several of its tributaries have once again crossed the red mark causing fresh floods that have affected over 65,000 people in eight Assam districts on Thursday.
Official reports here said that while the main channel Brahmaputra River was flowing above the danger level in Dibrugarh and Jorhat, four of its major tributaries – Burhi-Dihing, Jia-Bhoroli, Dhansiri and Beki – too were flowing above the red mark, together affecting over 100 villages in eight districts. The fresh wave floods have submerged about 2,200 hectares of standing crop, mostly winter paddy, as the authorities have shifted about 1,200 people to 13 relief camps.
Sonari town of eastern Assam’s Charaideo district has been largely submerged because of flash flood caused by heavy rainfall in neighbouring Nagaland. The situation in Chirang district of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) has turned worse because of flood caused due to heavy rainfall in neighbouring Bhutan.
The previous two waves of floods had affected over 20 lakh people in 29 districts, while over two lakh hectare of standing crops – mostly newly transplanted paddy saplings – were lost. About 90 people had lost their lives in the first two waves of floods, apart from substantial damage to infrastructure, following which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a package worth Rs 2,000-crore rehabilitation and infrastructure restoration in the region