Assam: Destruction, distress in submerged Silchar
Barak, Kushiyara rivers flowing above danger level, affecting over 6 lakh people
Silchar, June 23: Silchar town, the gateway to Assam’s Barak Valley, is in the grip of severe floods with the town remaining submerged since Monday, and people facing acute shortage of food and drinking water, besides frequent power outages.
Silchar Lok Sabha MP Rajdeep Roy on Thursday said this was the worst flood that Silchar had witnessed in the last seven decades.
Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi the three districts of Barak Valley — are reeling under severe floods with the Barak and Kushiyara rivers flowing above the danger level, affecting over six lakh people — 2,32,002 in 565 villages in Cachar district and 2,81,271 in 469 villages of Karimganj.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made an aerial survey of the marooned town, which has a population of approximately three lakh, visited a few relief camps, and reviewed the prevailing flood situation with public representatives and district officials on Thursday.
Ten-year-old Shreya Das of Silchar town was relieved last week when the Cachar district administration had announced the closure of schools following incessant rainfall, as she would not have to wade through waterlogged streets.
Little did the Class 4 student know of the harrowing time that her family would experience over the next few days.
Shreya’s house, along with that of around two lakh people in most areas of the town, was submerged following the damage of a dyke at Betkundi.
The dyke breached on Sunday following which water entered the homes of people, disrupting power and water supplies and the flood-affected population waiting to be evacuated. For four days, we are without power and clean drinking water and flood waters have entered the ground floor of my house, forcing us to move to the upper floors. At least, we are fortunate to have a triple-storied house and we could move to safety within the house”, school teacher Mandira Deb of the College Road area said.
The water level of River Barak was already flowing above the danger level since the rains but with the breach in the dyke, it gushed into the low-lying areas of Sonai Road, Rangirkhari, Link Road, Ambicapatty, Ashram Road, College Road, Public School Road, Fatakbazar, Betkundi and other areas of the town. —