PM assures Sonowal of aid

From Our Special Correspondent

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday of all possible help to tackle the state’s flood situation which has remained grave.
An official statement issued here on Monday said that the prime minister had a telephonic talk with the chief minister to take stock of the present condition including that of Kaziranga National Park.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority, in its flood report on Monday, said that four more persons lost their lives owing to the deluge, taking the cumulative death toll in flood-triggered incidents to 13, while another two had died earlier because of landslides in Kamrup Metro and Dima Hasao districts.
The ASDMA reported that as on Monday evening, a population of 42.8 lakh in 4,157 villages across 30 districts have been affected by floods in the state.
Meanwhile, about 90 per cent area of Kaziranga National Park lies presently inundated in flood waters.
“Some of the animals of the park are taking shelter in the highlands within the park and many are migrating to the southern highlands of Karbi Anglong crossing the National Highway 37,” the statement said.
Though 155 anti-poaching camps out of 199 such camps of the park are affected by flood water, the staff and security personnel are performing their duties using mechanised and country boats round the clock to deal with any kind of eventuality.
Till now, there has been six cases of accidents on the National Highway with five hog deer and one sambar reportedly killed.
Five other animals of the park are reported to have succumbed to injuries for various reasons due to flood.
“Teams for rescue operation of distressed animals, as per necessity, are kept in readiness. The Special Rhino Protection Force is also deployed at vulnerable locations of the park,” the statement said.
“The situation as well as the rescue management including medical aid facilitation is being continuously monitored by the chief minister and forest minister, and both are in touch with the park authority for real-time analysis and support,” it said.
It may be mentioned that the havoc created by the flood has snapped communication links of National Highway 37 at Bokakhat with the rest of Upper Assam.