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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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
