Floods cut rail link to Northeast, Assam toll 18
Rail connectivity between rest of the country and northeast remained disrupted for the second consecutive day on Monday due to damage and flooding of railway tracks.
With floods affecting tracks at Katihar and Alipurduar divisions, the Northeast Frontier Railway cancelled 35 trains for Monday and Tuesday and changed schedules of 9 others.
“Railway board has also decided to cancel all incoming trains from various parts of the country towards Northeast region which were to reach Katihar or Malda towns till 10 am on August 16,” said a release.
The death toll in the second spate of floods in Assam climbed to 18 on Monday with 2 deaths reported from Morigaon and one from Golaghat districts. The total number of deaths in the first deluge in July was 84.
Twenty five of the state’s 33 districts have been affected by the fresh spate of heavy rainfall since last week. Nearly 3,200 villages have been inundated and over 31 lakh people affected.
The Brahmaputra continued to flow above the danger level at five places in Neematighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri. Eight other rivers also flowed above the red mark.
Over 1.79 hectares of crop area has been submerged and over 2 lakh displaced people are taking shelter in 556 relief camps. Flood have also destroyed 99 houses.