The toll in the floods in Assam and Bihar touched 156 on Saturday, according to the state governments’ daily bulletins.
In Assam, 12 more people died on Saturday, taking the number of deaths to 59, while around 44 lakh people remain affected by floods, the state disaster management authority said. Five more people died in Bihar on Saturday, taking the toll to 97.
Assam
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority’s flood bulletin said five deaths were reported in Morigaon district, three in Barpeta, two in South Salmara and one each in Nalbari and Dhubri districts, taking the toll to 59.
Twenty-four of the 33 districts in the state and 3,024 villages have been affected by the floods, the flood report said. Flood water has shown receding trends in Baksa, Hojai and Majuli districts, according to PTI.
The deluge has submerged nearly 1.51 lakh hectares of cropland and a large part of Kaziranga National Park. Over 12 lakh animals across 17 districts have been affected by the floods, with 129 animal deaths reported from Kaziranga National Park, including 10 rhinoceros, a statement by the park’s divisional forest officer said on Saturday.
The flood bulletin said over 1.32 lakh displaced people have moved to 689 relief camps and 240 relief distribution centres set up by the district administrations.
The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat in Jorhat district, Goalpara, Dhubri, Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat district and Kopili at Dharamtul in Nagaon district, the report said.
The Army is conducting large-scale flood relief operations in flood-hit areas of lower Assam, a defence statement said. The National and the State Disaster Response Forces are involved in relief operations too.
“The Assam government is doing everything to provide relief to people affected by floods in the state,” Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said. “I want to thank central government and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on behalf of the people of Assam for their help.”
Bihar
Five more deaths were reported in the state on Saturday, taking the toll to 97, the state’s disaster management department said. Four deaths were reported from Madhubani district, where 18 people have died so far, and one person died in Darbhanga, where a total of 10 people died in the deluge.
Sitamarhi, where 27 deaths were reported, remained the worst-hit district, the disaster management department said. Twelve districts of Bihar have been affected by flash floods that hit the state after torrential rainfall in the catchment areas of Nepal last week. The deluge has affected 69.3 lakh people in the 12 districts, with over 1.15 lakh sheltered in 131 relief camps.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi toured Sitamarhi to take stock of relief and rehabilitation work in the district on Saturday.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Saturday that the Centre should declare the flood and drought situations in the state a national disaster, PTI reported.
“Bihar is reeling under both flood and drought situations,” he said. “The Centre should announce the situations as national disaster and give the state Rs 10,000 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should visit the state.”
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