GUWAHATI: The death toll in the current wave of floods in Assam has climbed to 87 with two more casualties reported from Nagaon and Morigaon districts on Tuesday, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) informed.
The situation during the past 24 hours has shown very little signs of improvement, with increased rainfall activity across several parts of the state not helping matters either.
Till Tuesday evening, a population of 24.19 lakh in 2323 villages across 24 districts remained affected
The trend has changed much from the previous day, with as many as 4.58 lakh villagers still bearing the brunt of the deluge in Goalpara district, followed by Barpeta and Morigaon where 3.52 lakh and 3.14 lakh people respectively are affected.
A crop area of 110323.54 hectares in about 19 districts has also been affected so far with Morigaon the worst affected with about 40,000 hectares of farm land lying submerged.
The Brahmaputra continues to flow above danger level in five districts.
As many as 44,498 affected people are currently taking shelter in 397 relief camps/centres across the state.
Meanwhile, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday visited the erosion-hit areas of Tulsijhara in Chirang district and flood-affected areas of Jamdaha (Bekar Chowk Bazar) in Bongaigaon district and assessed the devastation caused by the river Aie.
He also visited flood relief camps set up at Majharabari LP School and Nowapara LP School by the Chirang district administration and took stock of the government services being provided at the camps.
Sonowal, while speaking to reporters, said the flood water of river Aie has destroyed huge tracts of farm land and affected a large number of people in both Chirang and Bongaigaon districts.
“This has become a serious cause of concern for the residents. The state government will take prompt steps to find a lasting solution to floods and erosion caused by the river Aie,” he said.
Referring to a question regarding water flowing down from Bhutan causing floods in Assam, the chief minister said the central government would take up the matter with the Bhutan government for an early solution.
Later, he also visited three flood relief camps in Goalpara district and interacted with the inmates. The chief minister also directed the officials to take special care of the children and elderly people at the camps.