The Indian Army has been deployed to evacuate people stranded in several districts of Upper Assam as the flood situation worsened following incessant rainfall, while rail services were disrupted and vast tea-growing areas remained submerged, PTI reported on Monday.
According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Army personnel, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire and Emergency Services, and Air Force helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue people from flood-hit areas in Sivasagar, Charaideo and other affected districts.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said four of his cabinet colleagues have been stationed in the flood-affected districts to oversee rescue and relief operations.
"In Sivasagar, 510 people have been safely rescued so far by SDRF and Fire & Emergency Services. Rescue efforts continue with additional boats and Army helicopters deployed to reach inaccessible areas," the CMO said in a statement.
The CMO said NDRF, SDRF and Army teams have also been deployed across the worst-hit areas in Charaideo, while flood-fighting measures are continuing along vulnerable embankments in Jorhat, Charaideo and Sivasagar.
Sand-filled bags are being laid along the Dikhow embankment, geobags are being used to reinforce the Disang riverbank, and strengthening work is underway along the Jhanji embankment in Sivasagar district, it added.
Sarma said unprecedented rainfall over the past few days had aggravated the flood situation in Upper Assam.
"We remain committed to offer all sorts of assistance to the affected. Rescue efforts are underway and are being monitored by our ministerial team that has been entrusted to be on the ground to ensure swift relief efforts," he said.
On Sunday, the chief minister had directed ministers Ajanta Neog, Bimal Borah, Keshab Mahanta and Susanta Borgohain to immediately visit the affected districts and supervise relief operations.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person died in Sivasagar due to the floods, taking this year's flood-related death toll in the state to five.
More than 57,100 people have been affected across Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts, the ASDMA said.
Meanwhile, the Tea Association of India (TAI) expressed concern over the severe impact of the floods on Upper Assam's tea industry, particularly in Sivasagar district.
In a statement, the Assam unit of TAI said Nazira subdivision, a major tea-growing region, was among the worst affected after heavy rainfall and a cloudburst in neighbouring Nagaland caused rivers to swell beyond danger levels.
The breach of the Dorika River embankment led to extensive flooding across tea estates, submerging workers' quarters, estate hospitals, schools, roads and other critical infrastructure.
Thousands of tea workers and their families have taken shelter in factory buildings, managers' bungalows and other elevated structures within the estates, the association said.
TAI said Bamonpookrie Tea Estate suffered the worst damage. In one incident, a pregnant tea worker delivered a baby inside the factory premises after floodwaters prevented her from reaching a hospital in time. Another expectant mother also required urgent medical attention.
The association said estate managements had arranged temporary shelter, food, drinking water and emergency assistance for displaced workers, and acknowledged the Sivasagar district administration for coordinating rescue and medical relief.
The floods have also severely disrupted railway operations in Upper Assam.
According to Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), train services in the Simaluguri-Namtiali and Simaluguri-Selenghat sections have been suspended after floodwaters from the swollen Dikhow River inundated railway tracks, station premises and the railway colony at Simaluguri in Sivasagar district.
NFR Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said several long-distance trains from Dibrugarh and Tinsukia have been diverted via the Rangiya-Rangapara route on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, while a number of local trains have been cancelled or short-terminated.
"The situation is being continuously monitored at the highest level. The extent of damage to the tracks can be ascertained only after the water recedes," Sharma said.
The railway has arranged food packets, drinking water, ticket refunds and help desks for stranded passengers. Road transport has also been arranged between Namtiali and Sibsagar Town, from where a special train has been planned to Dibrugarh and New Tinsukia to facilitate onward travel, NFR said.
(With inputs from PTI)
