Anjali Saikia's extraordinary act of breastfeeding an orphaned palm civet alongside her infant son in 2009 has been immortalised in a CBSE Class X English supplementary reader, 'Words and Expressions Part Two', inspiring students across India with a lesson on empathy and coexistence.
At least seven elephants were killed, and one was injured after a herd of jumbos was hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai district early Saturday, officials said.
Among Indian states, Assam tops the list of elephant fatalities caused by train accidents, followed by Odisha, where 16 elephants were killed on railway tracks.
"The calf, the only tusker which had survived the accident, died this morning while undergoing treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga," Nagaon Division's Forest Ranger Shamim Akhtar told PTI.
So far, over 30 people have died across Northeastern states due to heavy rainfalls, floods and landslides, according to media reports.
Eight persons have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam as incessant rainfall caused massive inundation in 17 districts, affecting over 78,000 people, officials said on Saturday.
The rain and flood situation in northeastern states remained grim on Tuesday, with lakhs people affected in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, even as the meteorological department predicted more rain in several parts of the region.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next five days.
Assam's flood situation remained critical on Tuesday with over 6.71 lakh people affected in 20 districts in the second wave of flooding this year, as the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 13 stranded fishermen from the severely-hit Dibrugarh district, an official said.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Thursday with one more person losing his life and nearly 7.18 lakh people in 27 districts remaining affected by the deluge, an official bulletin said.
The flood situation in the three districts of Barak Valley -- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi -- remained critical as the water levels of Barak and Kushiara rivers continued to rise, inundating vast tracts of land, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam till Thursday.
With the flood situation in Assam remaining critical on Monday and affecting a population of nearly 43 lakh in 33 of its 35 districts, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed air dropping of food and other relief materials in areas where there is heavy inundation, officials said.
Assam reeled under devastating floods caused by incessant rain, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking stock of the situation and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visiting several relief camps sheltering affected people on Saturday, officials said.
The toll due to the flood since mid-May is now 101, they said.
Two more died in the state today. With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslide has gone up to 115 across the state -- 89 were killed in flood-related incidents and 26 in landslides.
With two more deaths, the fatalities due to flood this year has gone up to 18.
The death toll has climbed to 12 in the first wave of flood in Assam this year.
The total number of people killed in flooding and landslides in the state this year has gone up to 76. While 50 people were killed in inundation, 26 died due to landslides.
The flood situation affected nearly 26.5 lakh people across 28 districts.
Dhubri is the worst hit with over 8.72 lakh people affected, followed by Barpeta with more than 4.78 lakh people and Goalpara with around 4.28 lakh population.
The situation has improved marginally in Tripura and Mizoram in the past 24 hours.
BJP is set to win majority of 32 municipality boards and 42 town committees in Assam
Nearly four lakh people have been affected across seven districts of Assam.
