The death toll of Assam floods now stands at 61, after 14 people died on Friday, said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought an update from chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the relief and rescue operations that continues across the flood-hit districts.
“He sought an update on the extent of the devastation, the ongoing relief operations and the challenges we are confronting on the ground. I briefed him on the measures being undertaken by the State Government and our efforts to reach out to every affected family,” Sarma wrote on X.
“Expressing his deep condolences over the loss of lives and property, the Hon’ble Prime Minister assured the people of Assam that this calamity is being accorded the highest priority and the Government of India will extend every possible support to aid our relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts,” Sarma added.
The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are also assisting the state government in its relief operations.
According to ASDMA, seven persons died in Charaideo on Friday while six deaths were reported from Sivasagar and one in Jorhat. Till Thursday, 21 deaths had occurred in Sivasagar alone and with six more, the toll in the district reached 27. ASDMA said that one person is missing.
In Sivasagar, 3.48 lakh (.348 million) people are affected by the floods while 1.88 lakh (.188 million) people are suffering in Charaideo, followed by Jorhat where the number of flood-affected people stands at 1.26 lakh (.126 million).
Due to comparatively less rainfall in Assam and neighbouring states in the last 48 hours, the major rivers are showing a falling trend, but 12 districts including Golaghat, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Hojai, Nagaon, Biswanath, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Kamrup (M) and Karbi Anglong are still affected, according to the state government.
Sarma said that more than 1.1 million people across 2,000 villages are suffering and the government is trying to provide adequate support to the affected people.
“Situation continues to be grim with close to 11 lakh people affected in over 2,000 villages. Our Ministers are on the ground overseeing the relief efforts. I will visit the affected districts again in 2-3 days to personally monitor relief measures. Over 41,000 people are in the 162 relief camps set up to shelter the affected,” he wrote on X on Friday evening.
He said that the state government has released more than ₹111 crore for providing essentials to the affected people.
“Over 14,000 quintals of rice, 2,000 quintals of dal, 58,820 lts of mustard oil among other items have been distributed to the people; this is an ongoing effort. ₹111 crore has already been released to districts to effectively deal with this challenge and we will scale up as and when needed,” he wrote.
Additionally, mobile units of the health and animal Husbandry departments are present in every location to ensure there is no disease outbreak and to promptly treat the affected.
The CM said that he will have a discussion with officers of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force on how the state can reach “100% of the people stranded” in the floods and streamline air-dropping methods.
The CM on Friday afternoon held an emergency meeting with senior officials and district commissioners of the affected districts to review the current situation and find last-mile solutions to the on-ground challenges.
On Wednesday, Union home minister Amit Shah also sought an update from Himanta and assured him that an inter-ministerial team would visit the state to review the flood situation. Sarma on Friday said that the team would arrive on Saturday.
“A Central team will visit Assam to assess the damages as the floods continue to get the full picture. Our assessment teams will also start visiting the affected areas and immediately upload the real extent of damages via a mobile app,” Sarma added.
Apart from the floods in Upper Assam, Guwahati is also struggling with urban flooding. According to ASDMA, nearly 15,000 people across 10 wards of the city are affected.
Sarma alleged that the construction works in the Meghalaya hills by a private university led to the floods in Guwahati.
“If things continue the way they are in Meghalaya’s Jorabat hills near Guwahati, which houses USTM and other structures, it will be difficult to shield Guwahati from devastating floods. The matter is sub-judice and will soon be listed for hearing,” he wrote on X.
Assam’s urban affairs minister Kaushik Rai on Friday evening chaired a review meeting on the Guwahati floods and asked agencies including the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), PWD (Roads) and NHAI to expedite the cleaning and desilting of drains across the city so that floodwater can recede quickly.
He said he has also instructed the district commissioner of Kamrup (Metro) to prepare an SOP and an annual maintenance calendar for the city’s drainage system.