From Our Special Correspondent
Guwahati: There has been no let up in the flood situation in Assam with the water level remaining the same in all districts of the state over the past 24 hours.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority report on Saturday evening as many as 1,716 villages across 56 revenue circles of 18 districts are submerged under flood waters affecting a population of 21, 68, 134.
The affected districts include Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Darrang, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Cachar.
One person lost his life in Barpeta district in the past 24 hours, taking the flood-related death toll this season to 83.
Two persons had earlier died in rain-triggered landslides this monsoon season in Kamrup Metro and Dima Hasao districts.
At present, 615 relief camps are operational in the districts of Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Kamrup,
Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat and Jorhat districts with 99,659 inmates.
Currently, 49 relief distribution centres are operational in Sonitpur, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Kamrup and Morigaon districts.
According to the Central Water Commission bulletin, the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat (Jorhat) and Dhubri, Desang at Nangamuraghat (Sivasagar), Jia Bharali in Sonitpur, Puthimari in Kamrup, Beki in Barpeta and Kushiara in Karimganj are flowing above danger level.
The release of water from Bhutan has also compounded the problem in the downstream areas, mainly in lower and western Assam.
With the Met office here predicting more showers across isolated places in the state in the next 24 hours, it is unlikely that the river water level might recede in the next few days.
(With inputs from PTI)