Assam flood situation grim, Silchar submerged for sixth day
Guwahati(PTI): The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Saturday with the death count rising to 118 and Silchar town in Cachar district submerged for the sixth straight day, officials said.
Ten more people have died in the past 24 hours -- two each from Barpeta, Dhubri, Karimganj and Udalguri districts and one death each from Cachar and Morigaon -- due to floods and landslides.
The total population affected by the floods declined to 33.03 lakh in 28 districts as against the previous day's figure of 45.34 lakh in 30 districts, a bulletin issued by the Assam State Management Disaster Authority (ASDMA) said.
The situation improved marginally in some districts, as rivers showed a receding trend though the Brahmaputra at Dhubri and Kopili in Nagaon were flowing above the danger mark, the officials said.
The Cachar district administration is engaged in rescue operations in Silchar to evacuate marooned people to safety, with priority on shifting ailing persons to hospital, Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli said.
Packets with food, drinking water bottles and other essentials are being airdropped in the town by Indian Air Force helicopters, and this will continue till the situation improves, she said.
Two drones have also been deployed in Silchar for carrying out flood inundation mapping as well as to provide relief materials to the affected people.
Eight NDRF teams comprising 207 personnel from Itanagar and Bhubaneswar, along with an Army unit with 120 personnel and nine boats from Dimapur have been stationed in Silchar.
Nearly three lakh people are under distress in Silchar with an acute shortage of food, clean drinking water and medicines, the officials said.
The worst flood-affected districts in the state are Barpeta with 8,76,842 people in discomfort followed by Nagaon (5,08,475), Kamrup (4,01,512) and Dhubri (3,99,945), according to the ASDMA bulletin.
The deluge has hit 93 revenue circles and 3,510 villages, while 2,65,788 people have taken shelter in 717 relief camps, it said.
Relief materials were distributed from 409 delivery points among the flood-affected people, who have not taken shelter in the camps. Altogether, 312 houses were damaged during the last 24 hours, the ASDMA said.
Large-scale erosion was also reported from several places, including Baksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Darrang, Golaghat, Hailakandi and Kamrup, it added.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of Reliance Foundation said it has been providing relief support to the Assam government since the devastating flood hit the state.
Reliance Foundation's field team has joined hands with different state government departments, the spokesperson told PTI.
Reliance Industries Ltd MD Mukesh Ambani and his son Anant Ambani had on Friday donated Rs 25 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) to provide succour to people reeling under the deluge in the state.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
