Respite for flood-hit upper Assam

TINSUKIA/GUWAHATI. The overall flood situation in upper Assam improved slightly on Sunday with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries showing a receding trend.

Though the mighty river was flowing above the danger mark, its level was receding in Sivasagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh districts.

In Sivasagar, floodwaters have receded by over a foot in most areas of the district, including the residential localities of Nazira, Sivasagar town and Sonari sub-division in the last 24 hours. The district administration has stepped up its process to provide relief and rehabilitation among the flood-hits.

However, the water level of the major rivers like the Desang, Dikhow, Safrai, Towokok and the Dorika River was flowing much above the danger mark.

On the other hand, the district administration has sent as many as eight medical teams to several flood-hit areas to assist the affected people, apart from ferrying essential commodities.

Over 200 villages and at least 100,000 people have been hit by the deulge that created havoc in Sivasagar on Saturday by submerging over 60 per cent of its area, including many arterial roads disrupting traffic in various areas.

On Sunday morning, traffic resumed on B G Road that connects Sivasagar with Nazira. The road was closed after floodwaters submerged a major portion of it. However, traffic along Borali Road connecting Sivasagar and Nazira was disrupted after a portion of it near Mothiasiga was washed away by the swelling waters of the Dikhow.

Train movement was hit near the Bridge No 504 between Simalguri in Sivasagar district and Mariani after the floodwaters touched the bottom of the girder.

Speed of all trains passing through the stretch of the bridge has been restricted to 10 km an hour. Railway patrol team members have been deployed near the bridge to keep a close watch of the situation. Floodwaters also gushed in the railway colonies affecting 96 families, a Northeast Frontier Railway official said.

On Saturday, floodwaters washed away a 10-month-old baby and a two-and-a-half-year-old child at Nazira Khona Tea Estate in Sivasagar district's Charaideo sub-division. Since June 1, the deluge has affected over 200,000 people in Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Kamrup, Barpeta, Chirang and Kokrajhar districts. A crop area of 5678.33 hectare has also been damaged by the calamity.