Assam's devastating floods have claimed 80 lives, prompting the state government to announce a six-month loan repayment moratorium for affected residents and urgently seek a comprehensive support package from the Centre to aid relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Key Points
- The death toll from the Assam floods has increased to 80, with two recent fatalities reported in Sivasagar district.
- Eight districts and over 2.12 lakh people continue to be affected by the deluge, with Charaideo, Sivasagar, and Jorhat being the worst-hit.
- The Assam government has announced a six-month moratorium on all types of loan repayments for flood-affected people in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat districts.
- The state has also requested a special support package from the Centre and urged recognition of the Upper Assam floods as an "atypical, high-intensity, rapid-onset event."
- Relief operations are ongoing, with 112 relief camps housing over 75,000 people, and multiple agencies engaged in rescue efforts.
The toll in Assam floods has increased to 80 with two more fatalities, while eight districts and 2.12 lakh people remained affected, officials said on July 31, Friday.
The state government has announced a six-month moratorium on repaying all types of loans availed by flood-affected people, while also demanding a support package from the Centre for the relief and rehabilitation of people ravaged by an unprecedented deluge.
Rising Casualties and Widespread Impact
The officials said that both the latest deaths were reported from Sivasagar district. With these, the toll in this year's deluge has mounted to 80.
A total of 21 revenue circles and 437 villages in eight districts of Golaghat, Sivasagar, Biswanath, Charaideo, Kamrup (Metropolitan), Jorhat, Dhemaji and Nagaon continued to be affected by the floods.
The number of impacted people was at 2,12,400, with Charaideo being the worst-hit with nearly 80,000 people affected, followed by Sivasagar (71,000) and Jorhat (40,000).
The flood situation has improved since Wednesday, when seven districts and more than three lakh people were affected.
The administration was operating 112 relief camps and relief distribution centres in four districts, taking care of 75,583 affected people at present.
Multiple agencies such as the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Service, police and civil agencies are engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Government Relief Measures and Central Appeal
Crop area of 17,198.09 hectares has been submerged across Assam, while embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have also been damaged by flood waters.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a special meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), attended by representatives from the RBI, NABARD, SBI and all other commercial banks, decided on a relief scheme for the customers who availed loans in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.
"The SLBC decided that a moratorium of six months will be offered to all flood-affected people in these districts," he added.
Sarma further said that the tenure of loans availed by all flood-affected people can be extended from one year up to seven years in all banks, depending on the type of debt.
He also said the state government placed its demand for a support package before the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which concluded its four-day tour of flood-devastated districts in Upper Assam on Wednesday.
Sarma said the state government also demanded recognition of the Upper Assam floods as an "atypical, high-intensity, rapid-onset event" with flexible norms for damage assessment and assistance.
