Floods situation in Assam grim; landslide snaps road, rail connectivity in northeast

NEW DELHI: The flood situation in northeast India continued to remain grim on Tuesday, with heavy rainfall and landslides affecting lives in Assam, parts of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur. At least 11 people have died in floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in the northeastern states.
Assam is reeling under floods, with eight people having died and over four lakh people in 20 districts having been affected so far.
Incessant rains triggered landslides and washed off roads as well as railway tracks in multiple locations in the northeastern states of the country, thereby snapping connectivity.
Seven dead in Assam; landslide blocks road, rail
An Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said the number of affected people has reached 4,03,352 across 26 districts from 1,97,248 in 20 districts on Monday. The state disaster management agency said nearly 700 villages were underwater in Assam, where eight flood-related deaths have also been reported so far.
Several railway stations were closed because of floods, said Nazreen Ahmed, a senior official in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. She said around two lakh people in the district were cut off from the rest of the state as roads and bridges were either blocked by landslides or washed away.
The worst affect districts include, Cachar, Dima Hasao, Hojai, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Bajali, Baksa, Biswanath and Lakhimpur.

Class 11 exams suspended in Assam
The Higher Secondary first year or Class 11 examinations in Assam that was scheduled to start from Wednesday have been suspended partially due to floods and extensive damage caused by heavy rainfall in the last few days.
The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, which conducts the exams, in a notification issued on Tuesday informed all the heads of the institutions under it that the HS first year examinations to be held till Saturday are suspended until further order.
Meanwhile, in the worst-hit Dima Hasao district, all examinations till June 1 are suspended until further order due to disruption of surface communication, AHSCE Controller of Examinations Pankaj Borthakur said in the notification.
Thousands take shelter in 72 relief camps
Over 33,300 people took shelter in the 72 relief camps even as the district administrations of Assam have opened 27 relief distribution centres.
The Indian Army has deployed helicopters to help with rescue efforts in the northeast.
Rain leads to road cave-ins and waterlogging
An official bulletin said communication channels have been snapped in Dima Hasao since Sunday due to the heavy rains. Landslides and roads cave ins at different locations have led to disruption of road communication to the district.
A Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson said landslides and waterlogging on tracks in Lumding–Badarpur section have snapped train communication to Barak Valley, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
Work to restore the railway line was on at a war footing, he added.
Air fare shoots up
With the disruption in road and rail connectivity, air fare has shot up. Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy, who rushed to his constituency tweeted, “With railways and roadways disrupted due to heavy rains and landslides I am stunned to see #silchar-#guwahati airfare reach 31000/- for a 25 min flight of 300km ! This issue of ticket pricing needs to be addressed immediately!” he wrote, tagging the prime minister and his office, the civil aviation minister and the Airport Authority of India.
Fresh landslide alert in Meghalaya
In Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district landslides cut off road communication to Barak Valley in southern Assam and vital parts of the three north eastern states. East Jaintia Hills police has alerted about fresh landslides under its jurisdiction.
(With inputs from Agencies)