Incessant rains in Northeast India cause flooding, disrupt life

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Heavy rains affected normal life in various north and northeastern states of India, cut road and rail links and forced evacuation of thousands of people from their inundated houses to safer areas, particularly in Assam. While 15 people have been killed in floods and landslides, over 46 lakh have been affected.

In the northeast, the situation was also grave in Tripura and Mizoram where incessant rains have cut the two states off from the rest of the country and led to thousands of people taking shelter in relief camps.
An official of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said that 4,175 villages, with 46.28 lakh people, have been affected due to the floods, as of Monday afternoon, while close to 90,000 hectares of agricultural lands are inundated.
The government has pressed the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force to help the marooned people in different districts while the Army has been called in to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations.
Distressed cries
Over 10 lakh animals have also been affected. Almost 90 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park has been submerged and authorities are taking various measures, including speed restrictions on NH 37 which touches the park, to save animals as they head to higher ground to save themselves.

In Tripura and Mizoram, over 22,000 people have been shifted to relief camps and other safer places due to flooding of low-lying areas and villages by uninterrupted rains over the past three days.
Train services between the states and the rest of the country have been affected due to rain and landslides, while water, electricity and telephone services were badly affected due to damages in the heavy downpour.
Indian Meteorological Department Director Dilip Saha said that the situation is thankfully expected to improve from Tuesday.
According to officials in Tripura Disaster Control Centre, over 17,000 people have taken shelter in 64 relief camps on the outskirts of Agartala and four other districts – Khowai, Unokoti, Gomati, and South Tripura.
IANS