Brahmaputra bridge safe

The flood waters in Assam showed little signs of receding, thanks to fresh rainfall in some districts, including Guwahati, this morning, while a 8216;8216;minor8217;8217; crack on the 40-year-old Saraighat Bridge on the Brahmaputra at Guwahati noticed last evening was repaired today.

Kamrup Metro District Deputy Commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika said the crack was noticed last evening, ringing alarm bells and compelling the authorities to stop the flow of traffic last night. Railway engineers, however, worked on the bridge throughout the night, and it was said to be out of danger.

8216;8216;It was a minor crack which our engineers repaired in record time and no traffic, neither road nor rail, was affected,8217;8217; said a spokesperson of the North-East Frontier Railway today.

Meanwhile, the number of people affected in the floods has crossed the one crore mark, official sources said today. Assam8217;s total population, according to the 2001 census, is 2.66 crore.