With the waters of the Brahmaputra entering Guwahati and inundating several parts of the city last evening, the flood situation in Assam has worsened.Round-the-clock pumping out of water continued to save the city from imminent danger even as the rain-fed Brahmaputra rose alarmingly. The Army has been asked to step in to assist in relief and rescue operations.According to a latest Central Water Commission report, the river was flowing just 40 cm below the all-time high level of 1988. It is expected to go up in the next 24 hours.Water had already entered Kharguli, Uzan Bazaar, Bhralumukh and Kumarpara areas and the district administration was leaving no stone unturned to run huge pumps as rains continued through the night. The city was being protected by a sluice gate at Santipur. Authorities were apprehensive that the water might cross the dam at the Bharalu river if the rains continue.The river is also flowing above the danger mark at Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Majuli, Tezpur, Goalpara and Dhubri, CWC report said. Incessant rains in the catchments areas in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and Meghalaya have also sent most of the Brahmaputra’s tributaries swelling, inundating fresh areas in 20 of the state’s 24 districts.Official sources here today put the total number of villages affected at around 3,000, with a population of over 23 lakh directly affected due to inundation. While government reports put the death toll at eight, unofficial reports said at least 25 persons have died in the current wave of floods that began on June 16.In Kamrup district, the Pagladiya, originating in Bhutan, changed course last night at Madarbari village, submerging at least 20 villages and rendering over 10,000 people homeless. A Rs 600-crore multipurpose dam project on the Pagladiya, sanctioned four years ago, has not moved an inch.The situation in Majuli, the world’s largest river island was also stated to be grave with more than half the 400-sq km island remaining under water for the past three days. The ferry services to Majuli from Jorhat at Neamatighat have been suspended from Friday, thus cutting off surface links to the island. The worst-affected Dhemaji district on the other hand continues to remain cut off with the national highway and the lone metre gauge railway track remaining either submerged or snapped at several places for more than 15 days.
