The Assam floods' situation worsened on Saturday as death toll rose to 63 with eight more deaths and the number of affected people rose to nearly 31 lakhs in 32 districts.
Two deaths each were reported from Barpeta and Karimganj, while one person each died in Darrang, Hailakandi, Nalbari and Sonitpur districts.
More than 1.56 lakh people have taken shelter in 514 relief camps across the state. Relief materials were also distributed to other affected population that are not in such camps.
Landslides were reported in Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup and Kamrup (Metropolitan) and Morigaon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take a stock of the flood situation in state.
"At 6 am today, Honourable PM Narendra Modi ji called me to enquire about flood situation in Assam. While expressing his concerns over the hardships being faced by people due to this natural calamity, Honourable PM assured all help from Central Government," said Sarma in a tweet.
River Kopili is flowing above 'High Flood Level' in Nagaon district, while other rivers such as the Brahmaputra, Jia-Bharali, Puthimari, Pagladia, Manas, Beki, Barak and Kushiara are flowing above the danger level at different places, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC) bulletin on Saturday.
An alert was sounded in Karbi Anglong, Morigaon and Nagaon districts as four sluice gates of NEEPCO's hydroelectric project were opened in Dima Hasao.
Flooding was also reported in urban areas of Kamrup Metropolitan, Bajali, Barpeta, Darrang, Goalpara, Morigaon, Kokrajhar, Nalbari and Udalguri districts, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority bulletin said.
Guwahati has been severely affected by continued waterlogging in most parts of the city, with areas such as Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Zoo Road, Six Mile, Noonmati, Bhootnath, Maligaon, Bamunimaidam, Rajgarh Link Road, Hatigaon, Rukimingaon, Fatasil and Gotanagar remaining severely affected.
Infrastructure damage was also reported from various parts of the state as 216 roads, five bridges, and four embankments were damaged on Saturday.
The administration in Sonitpur has closed down NH-15, connecting Lakhimpur, Dhemaji along with Itanagar and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, for heavy vehicles, and the situation is being monitored, the officials said.
A total of 118 revenue circles and 4,291 villages have been impacted by the calamity.
In neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, water from river Subansiri has submerged the under-construction dam site of a hydroelectric power project.
Workers employed at the dam site have been asked to move to safety by authorities of National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), which is developing the project, official sources maintained.
Torrential rain in the frontier state has inundated numerous villages of the two districts of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, a government official said.
A portion of NH-6, which passes through Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, has caved in due to landslides, bringing traffic movement to a halt.
During the day, the Northeast Frontier Railways has cancelled short-terminated and diverted several trains due to water-logging of railway tracks.
The Assam government has also arranged for special flights between Guwahati and Silchar for people stranded due to the floods and landslides.
The special flights, arranged by the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) in association with Fly Big, will start operating from June 18 at a fixed rate of Rs 4,000 per person, an official release said.
The situation is no better in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, where roads have been damaged due to landslides and villages are largely flooded.
Sohra (erstwhile Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya recorded a massive 972 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Friday, while Mawsynram received 1003.6 mm showers during the same period, IMD officials said.
At least 18 people have died over the past two days in Meghalaya in flash floods and landslides, officials stated.
They also said that the government will be paying ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased.
(With PTI Inputs)
