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NORTHEAST |
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Monsoon fury: Bramhaputra and its tributaries are flooding
Flash floods claim 11 lives in Assam, landslides disrupt life in Meghalaya and Tripura
Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati
The Northeast is grappling with Nature's wrath, thanks to the monsoon rains that have led to flash floods, landslides and breach in embankments leaving many areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura cut off from the mainland.
Flood situation in Assam remained very serious on Tuesday June 26 with news of breach in embankments coming in from various districts. While many areas of Meghalaya are cut off due to massive landslides, Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing floods as the Brahmaputra and its tributaries are heaving.
The water level of the Brahmaputra has risen steeply in Upper Assam districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji. Even Kokrajhar, Nalbari and Barpeta districts of Lower Assam have been affected by the torrential rains. While all the districts in Assam have been put on alert due to rising water levels of various rivers in the state, the state government has sought help from the Army and the Air force for rescue and rehabilitation operations. Special battalions of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) have also been pressed into service as at least 11 people have already died in flash floods in Assam and over one lakh people have been rendered homeless. The state government has set up a special monitoring cell in the state capital Dispur.
The Inland Water Transport Department has suspended ferry services on various routes along the Brahmaputra. Assam Police is carrying out patrols in order to check private boats from plying. The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Tinsukia district has submerged with reports of hundreds of animals being swept away in the flood. The Assam Forest and Wildlife Department is also said to be working on war footing to stop poaching of these animals. Several areas of Kaziranga National Park, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Manas National Park have also submerged. People in Dibrugarh are in panic as there are chances of breach in the Dibrugarh town protection dyke.
After a massive landslide in the Garo and Khasi hills, many areas in Meghalaya and Tripura have been cut off from the mainland for the past 24 hours. Hundreds of goods-laden trucks are stopped as the main town of Garo hills, Tura, is cut off from the rest of the state and even Assam due to massive landslides caused by the downpour. In Arunachal Pradesh, the districts of Tirap, Changlang, Lohit, Dibang Valley and Upper Subansiri are facing serious threat from flood waters.
Meanwhile, the world's largest fresh water island Majuli in Assam's Jorhat district is cut off as ferry services have been suspended and many villages in Majuli are flooded. Sources say that the state government is worried that further rise in water levels of Brahmaputra will inundate more areas in Upper Assam.
Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka.
ratnadip@tehelka.com
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