STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The fury of Bhadia Baan (the deluge of Bhado) knew no bounds on Tuesday in Assam, where it inundated vast areas in as many as 21 districts, leaving over three lakh people reeling. This is the most devastating flood in the state so far this year, both in terms of the number of people affected and the areas of land inundated.
According to the evening bulletin of the CWC (Central Water Commission), the rivers flowing above their danger levels in the state today are the Brahmaputra at Dhubri, Guwahati, Tezpur, and Neamatighat; Beki at Road Bridge in the Barpeta district; Disang at Nanglamuraghat in the Sivasagar district; Dikhou in Sivasagar in the Sivasagar district; Subansiri at Badatighat in the Lakhimpur district; Gaurang at Kokrajhar in the Kokrajhar district; and Sankosh at Golokganj in the Dhubri district.
The CWC bulletin further said that the water level of the Brahmaputra is falling this afternoon in Dibrugarh and Neamatighat but maintaining a rising trend from Tezpur to Dhubri. Some other rivers still maintaining their rising trends are the Jia-Bharali, Kopili, Puthimari, and Pagladiya.
According to ASDMA (Assam State Disaster Management Authority), as of date, 49 revenue circles in 21 districts in the state are reeling under floods. The districts are Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, and Udalguri. Till yesterday evening, 17 districts in the state were under the drip of the deluge.
The ASDMA report further said that the floods have affected as many as 3,07,489 people in 756 villages in the state. The worst-affected district in terms of population today is Lakhimpur, with 71,889 people reeling under the deluge. Following Lakhimpur are Majuli, with 47,163 affected people, and Biswanth, with 37,420 affected people. SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) personnel are involved in rescue operations in several districts in the state. Reports of crop and infrastructure damage keep coming, besides the reports of affected livestock.
The flood water washed away a wooden bridge over a suti (stream) of the Brahmaputra at Bhakat Chapori in Majuli this morning, disrupting communication to around 17 villages on the river island.
In the Darrang district, the flood water washed away an embankment along the Nonoi river near Sipajhar last night, leaving many villages in the area submerged. Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika inspected the breached stretch of the embankment this morning. He instructed the top officials of the department to repair the breach.
Meanwhile, erosion led to the breach of the Panikhaiti-Sontoli road near Sontoli in South Kamrup this morning. Reports of erosion by rivers continue to come in.
Meanwhile, the RMC (Regional Meteorological Centre), Guwahati, predicted light to moderate rainfall in most areas and heavy rainfall in a few places in the state in the next 24 hours. Panbari received the highest rainfall in the state in the past 24 hours.
The cumulative toll of floods in the state this year is 15 so far.
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