 Floods this year have claimed 140 lives in the state.
The third wave of flood hit Assam as people were beginning to return to their villages after biding time in relief camps. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the quantum of rainfall Assam has received so far this month is twice the normal expected rainfall.
Seven rivers–Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Puthimari, Beki Sankosh, Katakhal and Kushiyara–were flowing above the danger level till the evening of August 16. Instances of swelling rivers breaching embankments are being reported with four such instances reported on August 16 alone. Earlier this week, Jia Dhol river breached an embankment in Dihiri village in the western part of the state and submerged 22 villages.
A worried Anu Rabha of Bamun Gaon in Dhemaji district says, “My entire agricultural land is under water. I have lost all my cattle, too. I urge the government to compensate us for this loss as we are suffering. This happened because the Guyekhowa embankment is breached and this is the fault of the administration.”
In the eastern part of Assam, Dhemaji is the worst hit by the deluge. It lies cut off from the rest of the world since the district administration closed the Kumtia bridge. Severe erosion is taking place in Udalguri, Nagaon, Bangaigaon and Chirang districts, affecting agriculture fields, houses and schools.
According to the disaster management report, as on August 16, more than 1.43 lakh hectares of crop area was affected in Assam. The worst affected district was Bhuragaon with more than 17000 hectares of crop area under water.
In Assam’s neighbouring state Arunachal Pradesh, heavy landslides caused by incessant rains have blocked many roads. The remote Anjaw district lies cut off as the main road connecting it to the neighbouring districts has been blocked since August 8 owing to a landslide.
Some villages in the district were cut off from each other due to the flood a week ago. Flood has isolated four districts in the state–Anjaw, East Siang, Namsai, and parts of West Siang districts–and submerged a part of National Highway 415, which leads to the state’s capital Itanagar. After the water receded, the highway was opened for small vehicles after some repair work. A 400-metre-long stretch of road caved in last week due to water logging.
Deputy chief minister Chowna Mein visited the flood-affected sites on Independence Day and remarked that the state’s measures to control damage in case of heavy rain were proving to be effective. He observed that much work needed to be done to further minimise the damage. The flood has damaged many roads and bridges in the state.
Syeda Ambia Zahan and Pranab Kumar Das from Guwahati, Ganesh Prasad from Bihar and Saurabh Sharma from Lucknow have contributed to this story. All reporters are members of 101reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
This post was originally published here.