1089 villages in 26 districts of Assam were flooded. The number of flood victims is more than four lakh. Due to the disaster, Assam Higher Secondary Education Council postponed the first year examination of higher secondary (class 11). Today, the council’s examination controller Pankaj Barthakur said that the scheduled examinations have been postponed till May 21. Examination in Dima Hasao district has been postponed till June 1.
According to State Disaster Response Force sources, floods and landslides have so far completely destroyed 1,005 houses. At least 40,000 people have taken refuge in 178 relief camps. The official death toll so far is 8. Three people are still on the missing list as their bodies have not been found. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed concern over the situation in Assam. He tweeted that he had taken the news of the situation by talking to the state chief minister on the phone.
The condition of Dima Hasao district is most deplorable. Haflong, New Haflong are devastated by landslides and Harpa flood. All the roads in the district are closed. Dima Hasao is practically isolated from the rest of the state. Eighteen trains were cancelled and ten journeys were short-terminated due to the closure of the hill line. There is a product crisis in the collapsed isolated Dima Hasao. But there is a shortage of grain in the market and even potatoes. Cooking gas is also inconsistent from today.
The district has run out of stock. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, Scheduled Caste Development Minister Yogen Mohan was out to inspect Dima Hasao again on the same day. But he had to return from Maibang as the road was cut off like yesterday. The minister announced that four lakh rupees would be given to the families of those who lost their lives in this natural calamity. The vastly affected victims will get 1 lakh rupees. Those who have suffered a small amount, they will be given 30,800 rupees per family.
The North-East Frontier Railway could not say for sure when the railways would be able to operate again in the event of a disaster. The army reached Lamding yesterday.
Barak Valley in Assam and Tripura, Mizoram are cut off from the outside world like Dima Hasao. The Dima Hasao railway line has been disrupted, and traffic on Meghalaya has been cut off. The floods are also severe in Hojai and Kachar districts. Three people died in Barkhola of Kachar. Large areas of Guwahati, part of Sonapur are submerged due to rains.
Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua held an emergency meeting on the flood situation in Assam. He later said that the National Highway Authority has been requested to start road communication from Guwahati to Haflong as soon as possible.
The Central ministry promised help as an average of 2 lakh people are affected by the flood in total. The closest number is 1,97,248. NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Services, along with locals, have been doing rescue operations in flood-hit areas.