12 more killed, 3.1mn hit as flood havoc continues
GUWAHATI: Assam’s flood situation worsened with more than 3.1 million people affected and 12 deaths during the last 24 hours.
Many parts of Cachar’s Silchar town remained under water for over eleven days on Thursday, officials said.The death toll due to flood and landslides this year has increased to 151. The number of affected population increased to 3.1 million in 26 districts.
The Brahmaputra at many places including Beki, Kopili, Barak and Kushiyara were flowing above the danger level though most other rivers showed a receding trend.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a virtual conference with deputy commissioners on Thursday and asked them to provide relief and ensure the rehabilitation of affected people at the earliest. He also directed them to make a speedy assessment of damages caused by floods so that adequate compensation can be paid to affected people.
Sarma said that a timeline has been set to assess the dam
ages in each district by July 15 which will be endorsed by the guardian ministers and secretaries by July 20, after which compensation will be distributed to affected people.
The entire process is expected to be completed by August 15.
In Silchar, several areas of the town are still waterlogged and the situation remained critical with shortage of food, drinking water and medicines faced by affected people. Deputy commissioner Keerthi Jalli said that continuous work was going on to repair the damaged portion of the dyke breached at Bethukundi which led to waterlogging in the town.