GUWAHATI: Two people died while over 4.62 lakh were affected across 21 districts as the flood situation in Assam turned worse.
With these, the death toll in the deluge rose to 18. Twenty-one others were killed in landslides earlier.
Fresh incidents of landslides were reported from three districts on Saturday. However, nobody died or was injured. In Guwahati, the district administration advised people, living in landslide-prone areas, to shift to safer locations.
Official sources said incessant rains for the past few days flooded almost all major rivers, including the Brahmaputra. The floodwater inundated several residential localities of Dibrugarh in Upper Assam. Cropland affected in the state was in areas of over 37,313 hectares.
The authorities set up 132 relief camps in ten districts where 19,496 of the marooned were taking shelter. A flood alert was sounded in Bongaigaon, Chirang, Sonitpur, Kamrup (Metro) and Goalpara districts.
The one-horned rhino fame Kaziranga National Park in central Assam was partially inundated which forced the animals to move towards highlands.
“Of the 178 camps, the areas of 78 camps were inundated. Animals such as rhinos, elephants, deer etc recently already started moving towards neighbouring Karbi Anglong hills,” the park’s Director P Sivakumar told this newspaper.
The park needs a modicum of flood every year to clean up piled up waste. It helps grasses to grow which the herbivores live on.
The area of Oil Well No 5 at Baghjan in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam, where a major fire broke out following blowout, was fully inundated by floodwater thereby hampering work to cap the well which is still burning. River Dangori in the vicinity was overflowing. The floodwater also submerged all connecting roads leading to the site.
“The approach road to the Debris Area via Plastic Park Road has been closed by the district administration for all vehicular traffic from the bridge over Maguri Beel (billabong) as the road from the bridge to the well site has been severely damaged. Floodwater entered the Debris area and inundated large area. The Kill Pump area is completely flooded. OIL CMT Water Pump area is submerged with floodwater,” the Oil India Limited said.
It said the working condition at the site was considered unsafe and all operations were called off for the day.