One person reportedly drowned in Assam on Tuesday even as flood conditions in the state continue to improve. As of Tuesday, the number of people reeling under the deluge had decreased to four lakh across 16 of the state's 35 districts, down from over 5 lakh in 17 districts on Monday, PTI reported.
The drowning death was reported from the Dhemaji district. The toll in this year’s flood, lightning and storm stands at 113. According to IANS, the highest number of fatalities, 22, was reported from Cachar in southern Assam.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its bulletin that 4,04,128 people in 49 revenue circles and 1,021 villages across 16 districts were still suffering from floodwater.
PTI reported that the flood-affected districts are Nalbari, Kamrup, Morigaon, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Goalpara, Dhemaji, Karimganj, Nagaon, Golaghat, Sivsagar, Kamrup Metropolitan, Biswanath, Hailakandi and Majuli. Cachar remained the worst-hit district, with 80,783 affected people, followed by Dhubri (80,544) and Nagaon (76,889).
A few major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, continue to flow over the danger level at several places. In Nematighat, Tezpur and Dhubri, Disang in Nanglamuraghat and Kushiyara in Karimganj, the Brahmaputra river continues to flow above the danger mark, PTI reported, based on the ASDMA bulletin.
Altogether, 84 relief camps set up by the district administrations that house over 15,000 people are currently functional. Additionally, another 38 centres are providing relief to another 15,607 displaced people.
Several embankments, roads, bridges, houses and other infrastructure have been damaged in different districts. Aside from this, 19,724.05 hectares of cropland remains inundated. Six animals were washed away in the last 24 hours, reported PTI citing the ASDMA bulletin.
Kaziranga Traffic Restrictions Eased
The traffic restrictions through the Kaziranga section of the national highway have been eased, but the speed still limit remains, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced.
“In view of the improvement in the overall flood situation, from today, light motor vehicles and buses will be allowed to move through the Kaziranga section of the national highway normally, subject to speed restrictions. However, trucks will be allowed to move only in a convoy,” he said, according to PTI.
Sarma said elephants were returning to their natural habitat in Kaziranga, which he described as indicative of receding water levels. The Chief Minister said thermal cameras had spotted several elephants returning to their natural habitat in Kaziranga.