Guwahati: Four people, including a child, were drowned in the flood waters on Monday taking the toll in the deluge to five, even as the flood situation in Assam deteriorated following incessant rainfall affecting 80,000 people.

One person was killed and nearly a lakh people have been affected by the flood in Assam on Monday.

Three women and a child were drowned in Barpeta’s Bhella town when their cropland was inundated by the rising waters of River Nakhanda, official sources said.

The four have been identified as Rehana Begum, Rita Begum, Halida Begum and five-year old Monima Begum.

A report stated that a child, age and gender not specified, drowned in Goreswar circle in Bask district adjoining Bhutan.

Nearly 80,000 people have been affected by the current wave of floods, while road communication was disrupted in many parts of the affected districts.

Assam is reeling under intense flood in the last 72 hours with more than 2.44 lakh people got affected by floods in 14 districts across Assam.

A source from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that over thirty thousand people have been shifted to various relief camps.

The disaster management body of Assam said Barpeta district was the worst affected district.

More than 98,000 people in 20 villages having been displaced by rivers flowing down from Bhutan.

The flood affected districts include Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Kamrup (Rural), Baksa, Udalguri, Sonitpur, Nagaon and Dhubri.

Incessant rainfall in the catchment areas during the last week have led to a rise in the water level of the Brahmaputra.

Its tributaries are overrunning the vast tracts of farmland and villages in ten districts of Lower and Upper Assam and Hailakandi in Barak Valley.

In Bajali sub-division of Barpeta, surging waters of the Kaladiya river breached dykes and embankments at many places inundating villages and fields.

In Dhubri district severe erosion has been reported from villages on the banks of Gauranga river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, while in Darrang water from the Sathtola river has breached dykes at many places with the Patharughat- Moirabari road submerged under water.

Reports said that the 14 districts affected by flood five western Assam districts were the worst hit displacing 88,940 people and damaging crops across 4427.95ha of farmland.

The source further said that the flood situation turned grim in five western Assam districts since the last two days.

It added that most rivers in many districts overflowed affecting nearly 80 villages.

The report also said Assam registered 17% increase in rainfall above normal in the current month with floods affecting 7443 hectares of crop area so far.

“We are monitoring Brahmaputra and other rivers. Except for four, water level in most of these rivers is falling,” said an officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority on Monday. (Agencies)

Kohima: The Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) has sought to make its stand clear on the 25 per cent Job Reservation while stating that only Eastern Nagas ‘by blood’ should be accommodated under the Backward Tribe Quota of the Eastern Nagas in all Government Departments firms or agencies.

In a release issued by ENSF President and Speaker Hawang T. Wangsha and Throngso Yimchungru said the matter is with the ENSF encompassing all 6 tribes of the Eastern Nagaland and one tribal organisation or complainant cannot give the final word as it concerns the future of 6 tribes.

The Federation reminded that it has been urging the Government time and again to implement the 25 per cent Job Reservation in letter and in spirit.

They also mentioned that this reservation is not for ‘adopted, migrants or acquired’ but exclusively for ‘indigenous/by blood’ citizens of the 6 tribes.

In this regard, it maintained that the NPSC or any Government recruiting agency should verify the credentials of the applicants, especially in Indigenous Inhabitant, Scheduled Tribe and Backward Tribe Certificates, before appointing such applicants.

It further cautioned that any Village Council, Gaon Burahs or Village Citizens Organisation taking up the case in favour of ‘Non-Eastern Nagas by blood’ and undermining the rights and privileges of their own ‘pure citizens’ would be questioned seriously.

They stated that necessary action would be initiated against the village concerned, which may even extend to depriving the rights and privileges of such villages. (UNI)

Guwahati: A wild elephant killed two people including a woman and damaged several houses at Junglebasti village in Amlakhi Tea Estate near Kaliabor in Nagaon district of Central Assam on Sunday night. Forest staff rushed to the spot and chased the marauding elephant away that had probably strayed away from a herd.

The incident occurred at 1.30 am on Sunday night at Amlakhi Tea Garden. The dead are identified as Litiya Lakra and Rumi Lakra. Elephant population has been on the rise in various habitat in Assam where man-elephant conflict has already reached an elephantine proportion.

A recent elephant census carried out by Assam Forest Department has revealed that the state is abode of around 5,620 elephants that are spread over 20 wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks including two world heritage sites – Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and Manas National Park (MNP).

While these 25 wildlife protection areas house 3,054 elephants, the rest are found in reserve forest areas of the state. There are 50 elephants roaming around revenue reserve areas in the State.

The census report further claimed presence of elephant in the forests of Karbi Anglong, Dihing Patkai and the Lungding reserve forest.

Among the sanctuaries, the KNP has the highest number of 1,165 elephants followed by Manas with 645 elephants.

Manas Park records the highest density of elephants among the national parks with 189 per 100 sq km followed by 135.63 per 100 sq km in Kaziranga Park and 5.08 per 100 sq km in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.

The Nameri National Park in Sonitpur district and Barnadi Sanctuary are also among the important elephant habitat in the state.

Meanwhile, Assam forest department has deployed rapid action force in areas prone to man-elephant conflicts that is a consequence of encroachment of elephant movement corridors by human beings.

The study of age-wise structure of elephants shows 51 per cent increase in the population of adult category, 20 per cent in the sub-adult, 12 per cent juvenile and 17 per cent increase in the calves. The male-female ratio and its percentage are 1:1.2 and 45 to 55 per cent respectively.

Kohima: Assam Rifles in Mon district busted an ‘ad hoc transit camp’ of various insurgent groups, including NSCN-K, and recovered arms, ammunition, war-like stores and huge quantity of rice on June 14, an official statement said on Monday.

According to the statement, issued by the Inspector General of Assam Rifles (North), two NSCN-K cadres, including an officer who was in charge of Chenmoho Camp under Aboi police station of Mon district, were arrested during the operation.

AR seized one pistol, one 12-bore rifle, several live rounds of various calibers, explosive and many other war-like stores besides 3,000 kg of rice.

The statement said the interrogation of the arrested cadres revealed that the recovered rice was actually meant for people from ‘below poverty line’.

The house from which the recoveries were made belonged to Yannon Konyak of Chenmoho village.

The cadres were using the house as a transit point for insurgent groups who are active in Myanmar in violation of Cease Fire Ground Rules and as a warehouse for storing the supplies.

The arrested cadres had been handed over to Aboi police station, the statement added.

In a separate statement, the IGAR (N) said on June 11, the security force confiscated one AK 56 and 60 rounds of ammunition from an NSCN cadre, identified as Langkhuh Konyak. (UNI)