GUWAHATI: Twenty-five per cent of the flood-hit areas in Assam's Sivasagar and Charaideo districts remained inaccessible on Friday, even as the death toll in the state stood at 47.
The deluge has affected mainly the upper Assam districts. Water levels of the Dikhow, Dhansiri and Disang rivers continued to rise, prompting authorities to advise people to stay away from them.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X that the situation remained grim, with close to 11 lakh people affected across more than 2,000 villages in the state. He said ministers were on the ground overseeing relief efforts, while over 41,000 affected people were staying in relief camps.
"Assam has weathered floods before and we will do so again now with the full support of the Government of India and the people, and we will do our best to stand with the ones who have lost their loved ones & their belongings; supporting them to rebuild their lives," he wrote.
Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Sarma said the situation in upper Assam's Charaideo and Sivasagar districts remained "pathetic and dangerous".
"On July 18 and 19, Nagaland's Mon, Mokokchung and Wokha districts, along with Charaideo, received excessive rainfall. As a result, a large area of Charaideo and Sivasagar got submerged," said Sarma, who visited some affected areas on Wednesday and Thursday.
Charaideo and Sivasagar are neighbouring districts that share their border with Nagaland.
"The administration and the state government have not been able to reach 25 per cent of the affected areas in Sivasagar and Charaideo. These two districts never received so much rainfall earlier," the chief minister said.
Drones were being used to distribute food to marooned residents, but Sarma said the effort had not proved effective as many food packets were damaged after being dropped.
"People are not appreciating it. They believe that the conventional method of carrying relief materials is beneficial. We are working day and night. We have received assistance from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force," he said.
Sarma also said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called him on Thursday and informed him that the Centre would send a team to Assam on July 25 to assess the damage.