As Assam floods and landslides leave 107 dead, Narendra Modi assures Sarbananda Sonowal of support

Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured all support to Assam in dealing with the flood havoc, which has claimed 81 lives so far this year. Discussing the flood situation with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over phone, Modi also inquired about the COVID-19 scenario and the ongoing efforts to douse the raging blaze at the Oil India’s Baghjan gas well. Sonowal tweeted—

Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji took stock of the contemporary situation regarding #AssamFloods2020, #COVID19 and Baghjan Oil Well fire scenario over phone this morning.

Expressing his concern & solidarity with the people, the PM assured all support to the state.

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) July 19, 2020

An official at the Chief Minister’s Office said that Sonowal informed Modi about all the measures the state has taken so far in dealing with the problems faced by the people. The total number of people killed in this year’s flood and landslide has gone up to 107 across the state, of whom 81 were killed in flood-related incidents and 26 died due to landslides, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its morning bulletin. Floods have hit over 27 lakh people in 26 of the 33 districts of Assam and destroyed houses, crops, roads and bridges at several places On the COVID-19 front, Assam has recorded 22,981 cases, of which 10,503 have been reported from the Guwahati city alone. The total number of persons who lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the state has gone up to 53. However, five more COVID-19 patients have died, but the government’s Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus. They had other ailments. Meanwhile, the damaged Baghjan gas well of the PSU major Oil India Ltd in Assam is spewing gas uncontrollably for the last 54 days since the blowout took place on 27 May, followed by the inferno on 9 June.