Over 2 mn hit, 50 killed; New Delhi yet to declare annual Assam floods a national calamity

July 14, 2020

Guwahati: Amidst spiralling cases of Coronavirus infection, flood fury is creating havoc across Assam having affected a polulation of more than 2 million and killed 50 people in a span of a week, as swelling waters of mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries are engulfing human habitation, wildlife habitat with an alarming pace.

The flood is like an annual event in Assam where every year millions of people lose their lives and devastation continues unabated. There has been a long pending from respective state governments in the state to declare Assam flood and erosion problem as a national calamity but New Delhi has not paid heed to the demand.

Assam loses almost 8,000 hectares of farmland annually to flooding and erosion, according to government data. The state’s disaster management agency said 32 people died because of flooding in 2012, 44 in 2014,64 in 2015 and 140 in 2016. Analysts say successive governments failed to tackle the annual problem of flooding and erosion in the ecologically fragile region of eastern India. “This year’s flood is possibly the worst in the last three years. The government needs to chalk out a long-term plan to tackle the swelling waters of the Brahmaputra River during the monsoon season,” Bibhan Talukdar of Aaranyak,a Guwahati-based environmental NGO,said.

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According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 12.63 lakh people have been affected by floods in 23 districts of the state. Barpeta is the worst-hit district with over 5.44 lakh people affected, followed by 1.92 lakh in South Salmara and 1.30 lakh in Dhemaji.

At present, 2,763 villages are underwater and 1,03,806.15 hectares of crop area have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said. It further said authorities are running 480 relief camps and distribution centres across 20districts, where 60,696 people are currently taking shelter.

In several areas the swelling waters have breached dykes, damaged roads and the release of additional dam water due to incessant rains in last 72 hours have worsened the situation. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has directed his council of ministers and legislators to take stock of the loss incurred due to the flood and help in relief and rehabilitation works in their respective constituencies.

The wildlife habitat has been badly hit. The famed Kazirnaga National Park which is known for one horned rhino is completely submerged under water forcing animals to stray in open areas and highways. As per official sources, 166 forest camps have been affected and seven have been vacated due to the floods till last evening. There are altogether 233 forest camps in the Park. As many as 47 animals have died in floods, including those hit by vehicles while trying to cross the national highway 37 that runs through the KNP. Speed restrictions are clamped in the stretch in the Park area to ensure safety of the vehicles.

Besides KNP, other wildlife habitats of the state, including the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, have also been affected by floods.

In the second round of flood this year, which started nearly a week ago, the Brahmaputra is flowing above the dangermark in Guwahati, Dhubri and Goalpara cities in Lower Assam, besides at Nimatighat in Jorhat district and Tezpur in Sonitpur district in Upper and Central Assam. Its tributaries such as Subansiri at Badatighat in Lakhimpur, Burhidihing at Chenimari in Dibrugarh, Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur, Kopili at Kampur and Dharamtul in Nagaon, Puthimari at NH Road Crossing at Kamrup and Pagladiya at NT Road Crossing in Nalbari are also flowing above the danger mark.

–India News Stream