IAF helicopters have been deployed for flood relief in Assam. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a large amount of relief material will be dropped in a targeted manner. Baby food and sanitary pads are also being distributed to women and children. So far 61 people have died due to the flood.
Guwahati (Assam) [भारत]July 25 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the state government is deploying Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters on a large scale to airdrop and deliver essential relief materials to people stranded in flood-affected areas.
Relief operations intensified with the help of Air Force
CM Sarma, in a post on Twitter, stressed that relief distribution strategies are being constantly refined based on ground conditions to ensure that aid reaches affected citizens efficiently. He said, “We are extensively using Indian Air Force choppers to airlift the relief material and deliver it to the people. Based on our ground experience, we will try targeted drops in larger quantities so that people can easily get the relief material.”
In a separate post, the Chief Minister said the state government is also distributing baby food and sanitary pads to ensure the health and well-being of children and women affected by the floods. “As our relief efforts continue during #AssamFloods, we are also paying special attention to the health and well-being of children and women. Distribution of baby food and sanitary pads is underway in affected areas to meet essential needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and MLA Badruddin Ajmal urged officials to accelerate efforts in areas that have not received attention and assistance so far. “Hundreds of people are affected or missing. The Chief Minister has said that many areas have still not been reached and only half the affected areas have been assessed. We need to know how the rest of the areas will be covered,” he said.
61 people have died so far due to flood
The death toll in the ongoing floods in Assam has risen to 61 after 14 more people lost their lives in the last 24 hours on Friday, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). The flood situation in Assam remains serious as ASDMA in its latest flood report said that of the 14 recent deaths, seven were reported from Charaideo district, six from Sivasagar and one from Jorhat. The dead include 11 men and three women. Additionally, one person is still missing in Sivasagar district.
The overall situation in the state remains critical, with over 7.05 lakh people affected in 12 districts: Golaghat, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Hojai, Nagaon, Biswanath, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Kamrup (M), and Karbi Anglong. Sivasagar is currently the worst-affected district, with 3,48,555 people affected, followed by Charaideo with 1,88,404 and Jorhat with 1,26,793 people. The ASDMA report further states that 856 villages and 37 revenue divisions have been affected by the floods. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet News editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)