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Assam flood situation may worsen;
general alert sounded

G Vinayak in Guwahati

With over 70,000 villagers affected in the latest round of floods following incessant rains since Sunday, the Assam government has sounded a general alert in the state.

The mighty Brahmaputra, also called the sorrow of Assam, has been rising steadily throughout its 800-km course in Assam, breaching a 200-metre embankment in the worst affected Dhemaji district submerging over 100 villages, official sources in the state capital Dispur said.

Assam Flood Control Minister Nurjamal Sarkar said: "Heavy rains in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, which is the main catchment area for the rivers in Assam, has turned the flood situation in the state critical. If the rains don't stop, it may worsen," he warned.

Dhemaji Deputy Commissioner B R Samal said over the telephone: "On Monday morning there was a major breach in an embankment at Arnoi Chapori in which about 70 to 75 villages got washed away."

Since July 1, when the monsoon first arrived in Assam, up to 1.1 million people have had to leave their homes, more than half returning, however, in the past week or so after the waters began receding.

Others whose homes were destroyed or are still under water have remained cramped into relief camps, government buildings and schools on higher ground.

"There are still more than half-a-million people staying at makeshift camps with their houses either completely damaged or their villages still under water," Sarkar said.

"Although 50 per cent of the people returned home after the floodwaters receded, most of them were left with virtually nothing after the surging waters destroyed their properties and livestock," he added.

"Fresh areas have been flooded in Dhemaji district, with up to 100,000 people now rendered homeless," Deputy Commissioner Samal said. "Rivers had been receding but on Sunday the situation took a turn for the worse. Rail and road connection with the worst-affected Dhemaji district have been cut-off since the beginning of July. He added that sections of the highway were washed away in Sunday's downpour.

"We are providing food and other relief supplies to the marooned people," Samal said, adding that he expected some would have to remain in the relief camps for two to three months.

At least five people have been killed in the last 15 days due to floods.

A Central Water Commission bulletin said the river Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger mark in at least eight different locations in Assam and was likely to rise further.

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