Flood situation in North East worsens: Toll rises to 12; train services remain suspended in Assam, Tripura, Manipur

Guwahati/Agartala: The flood situation in the North East deteriorated on Friday, with four more people in Manipur and one in Tripura losing their lives, taking the death toll in the region to 12. The situation worsened in Assam, Tripura and Manipur as train services remained suspended on some routes and roads were washed away. [caption id=“attachment_4520241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] An aerial view of flood-affected Kailashahar town in Unakoti district of Tripura. PTI[/caption] Nearly four lakh people have been affected across seven districts of Assam. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 3.87 lakh people have been affected in Hojai, Karbi Anglong East, Karbi Anglong West, Golaghat, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Cachar districts in the first wave of floods to have hit the state this year. So far, three persons have lost their lives in landslides and flood-related incidents in different parts of the state. According to the report issued on Friday, Hailakandi has been the worst-hit with nearly 2.06 lakh people affected, followed by Karimganj with almost 1.33 lakh people. Due to fresh landslips between the Bandarkhal and Damchara stations, rail movement continues to remain suspended on the Lumding-Badarpur section. Currently, Dhansiri river at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali at NT Road crossing in Sonitpur, Kopili at Kampur in Nagaon, Barak at AP Ghat in Cachar and Badarpurghat in Karimganj, Katakhal at Matizuri in Hailakandi and Kushiyara at Karimganj town are flowing above the danger mark. In Manipur, over 1.5 lakh people were left marooned in two flood-hit districts as the situation in the Imphal Valley worsened with the death toll rising to six. The Relief and Disaster Management, in a report, said the intensity of flooding has been increasing at Thoubal and Imphal West districts with 1.5 lakh people being marooned. About 12,500 houses have been damaged and 5,200 people moved out of the area, according to latest reports. Concerned over the devastating flood situation in the state, Manipur governor Najma Heptulla said she would donate a day’s salary to the Governor’s Relief Fund for the flood-affected people. Heptulla told reporters that the entire Raj Bhavan staff would contribute a day’s salary and appealed others to chip in. Acknowledging that the flood situation was bad, she said once the water recedes, there is a possibility of an outbreak of fever and other diseases. She said that she will discuss the matter with the health minister to take preventive measure. Officials said the water level continued to rise in Nambol and Thoubal rivers in Bishnupur and Thoubal districts. The situation in Tripura also deteriorated with the rain-fed Khowai river inundating fresh areas rendering thousands homeless and damaging roads and crops, officials said. Three people have so far died in flood-related incidents in the state. Around 2,000 flood-affected people have taken shelter in freshly opened relief camps this morning as water level of the Khowai has been swelling following continuous rain since last night, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Uttam Mandal said. Currently, 6,000 people are marooned in Khowai district, he said, adding that it has caused extensive damage to road connectivity as well as crops. The Kalilashshar sub-division of Unakoti district, which was badly affected by the flood, is yet to recover from the disaster with over 21,000 people still putting up in relief camps. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Friday visited the Kalilashshar sub-division. In Mizoram, at least 1,066 families have so far been evacuated to safer places due to floods, state disaster management and rehabilitation department officials said. The worst-hit villages were south Mizoram Lunglei district’s Tlabung town and its surrounding villages as their homes were inundated by the flooding Chhimtuipui river along the Mizoram-Bangladesh border. Heavy rainfall continued to lash the state again last night and this morning which triggered another massive landslide at Ramlaitui village in Lunglei district which blocked the Aizawl-Lunglei via Thenzawl highway. Public Works Department’s chief engineer K Lalsawmvela said excavators were used to clear the debris while the National Highway No 54, which was swept away by a landslide near central Mizoram’s Serchhip town on Thursday, was still not repaired. Lalsawmvela said that it would take days, if not months, to restore the National Highway as the whole hillock collapsed pulling down around 100 metres of the highway.