Death toll in Assam floods climbs to 24; 7.19 lakh affected

GUWAHATI: The flood situation has remained unchanged in Assam in the last 24 hours though the intensity of rainfall has declined in the northeast.
Six more deaths were reported in Assam, four from Nagaon and one each from Hojai and Cachar districts, taking the death toll to 24 in the state due to floods and landslides since April 6. With this, the death toll across Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh crossed 30 in the last nine days. At least 29 deaths were reported till Saturday in the northeast.
From 6.8 lakh, reported by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Saturday evening, the number of flood affected people in the state has gone up to 7.19 lakh. However, the number of flood-hit villages in the state declined to 2,095 on Sunday evening from 2,248 reported on Saturday.
Rail and road connectivity to South Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura through Dima Hasao is yet to be restored. Though the Railways has not been able to make a commitment on the resumption of service through the hill district, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday met senior officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in New Delhi to reinstate road connectivity on NH 27 through Dima Hasao.
Sarma had a meeting with NHAI chairperson, Alka Upadhyay, on restoring connectivity to Dima Hasao. "The Maibang to Harangajao sector of the national highway in Dima Hasao, where connectivity has come to a halt due to landslides, needs to be reinstated. She assured me that the 31-km stretch will be improved and vehicles will be able to ply through the highway by May 31," he said. Sarma added that the government is supplying fuel to Dima Hasao headquarters Haflong through air to address the fuel crisis and on Sunday itself, 6,000 litres of petrol and diesel have been airdropped.
The IAF has also airlifted 12 MT of essential items from Jorhat to Liasang, Hajadisha and Khetre in Dima Hasao.