Assam flood toll now nine, over 4 lakh affected
Guwahati, June 17: The flood situation continued to be grim across Assam on Sunday, affecting over four lakh people in six districts as five more persons were killed in last 24 hours, taking the toll to nine.
Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said that a total of 4,48,495 persons in 673 villages of Hojai, Cachar, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Karimganj, and West Karbi Anglong were severely affected, while surging river waters have also affected crop areas in Nagaon and Morigaon districts.
"Five persons (one each from Karimganj and Hailakandi and three from Cachar) have lost their lives on Sunday in the flood taking the total death toll to nine in the first wave of flood this year," said an ASDMA official, adding that embankment breaches have also been reported in six places in Hojai.
"In Karimganj, natural embankment breach has occurred at three points in Longai river and also two more such incidents has been reported by Executive Engineer, Water Resource Division, Karimganj, where public has cut out the embankment themselves," the official said.
While the Brahmaputra river is flowing above danger level at Neamatighat (Jorhat), Dhansiri river is flowing above danger level at Numaligarh in Golaghat.
Similarly, Jia Bharali is flowing above danger level at Sonitpur followed by Kopili at Nagaon, Barak river (Cachar) and Badarpurghat (Karimganj), and Kushiyara river is flowing above danger level at Karimganj.
The National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force teams have been engaged into service in the flood-affected areas for search and rescue operation. "Today 6,153 persons were rescued in from Karimganj district, Hailakandi, and Cachar by SDRF and NDRF personnel," an official said.
A total of 235 camps are operational in Karimganj, Hailakandi, Karbi Anglong (west), Hojai and Cachar with 1,73,245 taking shelter in them as of Sunday. As many as 246 Relief Distribution Centres are also operational in Hojai, Cachar and Karimganj.
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Liquor seized from car with BJP sticker sparks row during Kedarnath By-Election
Kedarnath: The Kedarnath assembly by-election in Uttarakhand has entered its final phase, but a controversy erupted last evening after liquor bottles were recovered from a car in the Chopta area of Tallanagpur. The car reportedly had a BJP Pradesh Working Committee sticker, raising questions about the state government and election integrity.
Congress candidate Manoj Rawat, along with his supporters, intercepted the car on Sunday evening and claimed it belonged to a BJP worker. They alleged that the BJP was distributing liquor to influence voters and misusing government machinery for electoral gains. Following the incident, Rawat and his supporters staged a protest at the spot, raising slogans against the ruling party.
Rawat accused the BJP of engaging in unethical practices, calling it a blatant attempt to sway voters. "The BJP is misusing its power and distributing liquor to manipulate the election process. This is a direct attack on democracy," he said.
In response, the BJP dismissed the allegations as baseless propaganda by Congress, aimed at tarnishing the ruling party's image out of fear of losing the election. A BJP spokesperson stated, "Congress is trying to mislead the public by fabricating such accusations. The people of Kedarnath are well aware of our development work and know whom to trust."
The BJP further alleged that Congress was attempting to influence the election by creating unnecessary controversy and added that such claims would not impact the BJP's chances in the by-poll.
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— Anshuman Sail Nehru (@AnshumanSail) November 17, 2024
BJP is completely polluting Devbhoomi Uttarakhand with dirty politics of money and liquor
In Kedarnath Byelection, Liquor has been seized from BJP office bearers car. This is shameless beyond point. Stop hurting Hindu sentiments, BJP. pic.twitter.com/DYiECfJs8s
