Assam: Brahmaputra water level recedes, flood toll rises to 150

Morigaon: A child having his meal on a boat at a flood affected village in Morigaon district of Assam on Wednesday. PTI Photo

The water levels of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have gone down but 11 more deaths in Assam took the flood toll to 150 on Friday. Rail connectivity between the Northeast and the rest of India remained cut for the seventh consecutive day.

Three fresh deaths were reported from Dhubri district and two in Morigaon. One death each was reported from Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, South Salmara, Kamrup and Kokrajhar, official reports said.

Of the 150 deaths so far, 60 have occurred in the second wave of floods that began on August 10. Of the 60 deaths in the second wave, 12 were reported from Morigaon, nine each in Kokrajhar and Dhubri and seven in Bongaigaon.

The rail link to Assam snapped after floods in Bihar caused serious damage to tracks and bridges August 12 onwards.

A spokesman of the Northeast Frontier Railway in Guwahati said it would take a few more days to restore movement of trains. Restoration work of Bridge No 3 between Kuretha and Maniyan stations in the Katihar-Malda section is expected to be completed by Friday night, the spokesman said.

Supply of essential commodities, including foodgrains, has been hit because of the lack of trains, which in turn has led to a price rise across the northeastern region.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday held a high-level meeting with senior officials of different central government departments to chalk out plans to find a lasting solution to the perennial floods and erosion problem in the state.

The meeting, held after the announcement of the PM’s Rs 2,000-crore package for Assam and the north-eastern region for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation, deliberated on the dredging of the Brahmaputra in order to enhance its water holding capacity.

The dredging of the river from Sadiya to Dhubri would begin in September, an official press release said.