Assam flood situation critical, 24.50 lakh affected in 30 districts
Guwahati (PTI): Assam's flood situation remained critical on Saturday with over 24.50 lakh people reeling under the deluge in 30 districts and major rivers flowing above the danger mark at several places, an official bulletin said.
The toll in this year's flood was 52 and 12 others lost their lives due to landslides and storms.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with officials late on Friday after returning from the severely affected Dibrugarh district and reviewed the flood situation in the state.
''After visiting flood-affected areas of Dibrugarh, we reviewed several matters, including Assam Arogya Nidhi-a health financial assistance scheme," the chief minister said.
Sarma also said he has specifically asked the officials to ''prioritise rarest of rare cases and applications from those who are not covered under any existing scheme''.
ALSO READ: Three siblings die in Faridabad after their house's eaves collapses on them
The chief minister said after interacting with the flood-hit people, he had sent messages to officials to address their problems.
"For us, proactive governance is the key to effective public service," he said.
On the supply of clean drinking water, he said while the flood has caused considerable damage across the state, the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' scheme has come out as a ''silver lining in these tough times''.
''The transformative water supply project is supplying clean drinking water in these tough times'', he said.
Cachar, Kamrup, Hailakandi, Hojai, Dhubri, Nagaon, Morigaon, Goalpara, Barpeta, Dibrugarh, Nalbari, Dhemaji, Bongaigaon, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Karimganj, South Salmara, Darrang and Tinsukia are among the districts affected by the flood.
The toll in this year's flood, landslides and storms was 64, according to the bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Dhubri with a population of 7,75,721, Darrang with 1,86,108, Cachar with 1,75,231, Barpeta with 1,39,399 and Morigaon with 1,46,045 are among the worst-hit districts, it said.
Altogether 47,103 affected people have taken shelter in 612 camps, while 4,18,614 inmates in non-relief camps have been provided with relief materials.
Flood in urban areas of three districts of Kamrup (Metropolitan), Kamrup and Dibrugarh was also reported.
Cabinet ministers are also camping in various flood-affected districts.
Sarma said he and his entire team are on the ground to ''assess the damage caused by the floods".
"We are working tirelessly to hear people's grievances and solve their issues," the chief minister said.
The Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger mark at Nimatighat, Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri.
Its tributaries Burhi Dihing at Chenimari, Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh, Jia Bharali at NT Road crossing, and Kopili at Kampur and Dharamtul are also flowing above the danger levels.
The Barak river is flowing above the danger mark at AP Ghat, BP Ghat, Chota Bakra and Fuletral, and its tributaries Dhaleswari at Gharmura, Katakhal at Matizuri and Kushiyara at Karimganj town.
Infrastructure damaged by the floods includes 225 roads and 10 bridges among others, the bulletin added.
VIDEO | Assam flood: 95 forest camp areas of Kaziranga National Park remain flooded but water is subsiding gradually.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 6, 2024
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/cBkkYV1hBo
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
