Flood situation remains grim in Assam; heavy rainfall predicted
Guwahati (PTI): The flood condition in Assam remained critical on Wednesday morning following overnight rainfall at several places with over 34,000 people reeling under the deluge across nine districts of the state, an official said.
The Bhutan Government and the India Meteorological Department have predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the next few days in the upper catchment areas, which may result in rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that the Royal Government of Bhutan has issued a weather advisory stating that cloudy weather with light to moderate rainfall may occur in isolated areas of the country in the next 2-3 days, potentially leading to rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
The agency further said that due to continuous rainfall in both the upper catchment areas of Bhutan and Assam along with release of water from the Kurichhu Dam in the neighbouring country has led to rising water levels and floods in the western part of the state.
The India Meteorological Department also issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next few days.
IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has issued a 'Red Alert' for 24 hours from Tuesday, followed by an 'Orange Alert' for Wednesday and a 'Yellow Alert' for Thursday.
'Red Alert' signifies taking immediate action, while 'Orange Alert' implies to be prepared for action and 'Yellow Alert' stands for watch and be updated.
According to the daily flood report of the ASDMA, nearly 34,100 people are hit due to floods in Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst hit with over 22,000 people affected, followed by Dibrugarh with almost 3,900 people and Kokrajhar with more than 2,700 persons, it added.
The administration has been operating one relief camp in Kokrajhar, where 56 persons have taken shelter, and running 24 relief distribution centres in four districts.
At present, 523 villages are under water and 5,842.78 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.
Massive erosions have been witnessed in Barpeta, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Udalguri, ASDMA said.
Places in Cachar, Dima Hasao and Karimganj have reported incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Udalguri, Sonitpur, Darrang, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Nalbari and Barpeta.
Urban areas were inundated with many places across Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts.
No river is at present flowing above the danger mark.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
