Assam flood: BSF jawan Bipin Mishra missing from inundated border outpost; feared drowned

Dhubri(Assam): A BSF jawan has gone missing from an inundated border outpost in Assam’s Dhubri district and is feared to have drowned. According to BSF officials, the jawan went missing last night from Chowkichar outpost where he was on patrolling duty. Though it is not confirmed, it is feared that he died due to drowning near the outpost. A rescue operation has been launched to find him by BSF’s water wing, NDRF and local residents, the officials said. The jawan has been identified as Bipin Mishra (45) and hails from Bihar, they added. Floods in northeast India have killed at least 40 people and displaced nearly 1.5 million. The Brahmaputra river, which flows from China down to India and then through Bangladesh, has burst its banks after torrential monsoon rains, swamping more than 2,500 villages in India’s Assam state over the past two weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his anguish over the human suffering, with thousands of people seeking shelter in more than 300 relief camps. Authorities have declared a “maximum health alert” to stop the spread of disease.