Surplus rain pushes Brahmaputra level

With incessant rainfall in the upper catchment areas in Assam as well as adjoining states of Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland and Meghalaya,the water-level of the Brahmaputra and several of its major tributaries have registered a rising trend and flowing above danger level at one or two places.

The flood report issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority ASDMA on Saturday said while the Brahmputra was flowing above the red-mark at Nimatighat Jorhat,it showed a rising trend in Tezpur and Guwahati. In Dibrugarh,however,the water-level had fallen in the past 24 hours.

Major tributaries which have shown rising trends included Subansiri,Burhi-Dehing,Dikhow,Disang,Dhansiri South,Kopili,Puthimari,Beki and Sankosh,the report said. The state has received 10 per cent more rainfall than normal this month,it said.

At least nine persons including two children have died in the second wave of floods that affected five districts in the current month. Over 2.5 lakh people and over 20,000 hectares of standing crops have been affected,the report said.