Assam flood: 11 more dead, death toll climbs to 82

GBNews24 Desk//

Assam’s flood situation remained bleak with all major rivers in spate, affecting over 47 lakh people and claiming 11 more lives, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the state of affairs, officials said.

The state has been reeling under devastating floods over the last one week, impacting 47,72,140 people in 32 of the 36 districts.

The fresh fatalities have pushed the death count in this year’s floods and landslides in Assam to 82, a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

Three new fatalities were recorded in Darrang, two in Nagaon — police personnel who got washed away while trying to rescue marooned people — and one each in Cachar, Dibrugarh, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup and Lakhimpur.

Seven people were reported missing, with two each in Udalguri and Kamrup and one each in Cachar, Darrang and Lakhimpur.

“Hon HM Shri @AmitShah ji called twice since morning to enquire about the flood situation in Assam. He informed that a team of officials shall soon be sent by Ministry of Home Affairs to assess the damages caused by the natural calamity. Grateful to HM for his help,” Mr Sarma tweeted on Monday.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said that Amit Shah’s first call was to enquire about the flood situation and the second to inform the chief minister that a central team will soon be sent to the state for damage assessment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also called up the Assam Chief Minister on Saturday to enquire about the situation and assured him of all possible help from the Centre.

Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia sought from the Prime Minister a central package of at least ₹ 20,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation work in areas that suffered damage due to flood over the last three to four years.