The death toll in Assam’s floods rose to 103 on Thursday after two more people drowned in Sivasagar and Karbi Anglong districts, even as the overall flood situation showed signs of improvement.
More than 86,800 people remained affected across four districts, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). The figure was down from nearly 1.13 lakh affected people reported a day earlier.
433 villages still inundated
Golaghat remained the worst-affected district, with more than 42,000 people affected, followed by Nagaon with around 20,000 and Sivasagar with nearly 15,000.
Authorities are operating 79 relief camps and relief distribution centres across five districts, providing assistance to 13,011 people.
Over the past 24 hours, the administration distributed, 96.55 quintals of rice, 18.26 quintals of dal, 5.41 quintals of salt, and 204.81 litres of mustard oil.
Despite the improvement, 433 villages remain inundated and 10,884.27 hectares of crop area have been damaged. Floodwaters have also damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
The Dhansiri River was flowing above the danger level at Numaligarh. Flooding has also affected livestock, with 32,944 domestic animals and poultry impacted across the state.
Also read: Assam flood toll rises to 100, nearly 1.4 lakh affected
Congress seeks 'national problem' status
Amid the continuing crisis, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare Assam’s recurring floods and river erosion a “national problem”.
A Congress delegation led by Pranjit Das, chairman of the party’s Relief & Rehabilitation Department, met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister.
The party said around 40% of Assam’s geographical area — about 31.05 lakh hectares — is flood-prone, compared with the national average of 10.2%.
The Congress said recurring floods and river erosion have severely affected farmers, daily wage workers and tea garden workers, besides displacing large numbers of families.
The demand comes as Assam continues to deal with annual flooding, with the latest spell causing deaths, crop losses and damage to infrastructure despite a gradual improvement in the situation.
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