The Assam flood situation showed signs of improvement as the total affected population declined to 21.52 lakh in 22 districts. However, eight new deaths were reported on Monday, taking the death toll to 134.
Five deaths were reported from Cachar district and one each was reported from Kamrup Metro, Morigaon and Nagaon, said officials. One person was also reported missing in Cachar district, according to a bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Most of the rivers showed a receding trend, though Kopili at Nagaon, Barak at Cachar and Karimganj and Kushiara in Karimganj were flowing above the danger level, the officials said.
The ASDMA bulletin said 2,254 villages under 61 revenue circles remain affected by the current wave of floods across the state, while 1,91,194 people have taken shelter in 538 relief camps.
It said flood waters have damaged 79 roads and five bridges, even as six embankments were breached. It added that a crop area of 74,655.89 hectares is still inundated, and 2,774 animals have so far been washed away.
In Silchar town, which is submerged for over a week, efforts are on to provide relief to those areas where the administration is yet to reach by air to drop packets with food, drinking water and other essential items by Indian Air Force helicopters.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are also engaged in preparing a flood map of Silchar town so as to identify the extent of damage, and help in taking measures to mitigate losses in future, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli said.
The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), UNICEF and OXFAM, an international charitable organisation, have started operating boat-mounted water treatment units to drinking water to the people in need within Silchar and its peripheral areas, she added.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited and reviewed Silchar twice within two days on Sunday and reviewed the relief and rescue operations in the town. Silchar has been severely affected as water gushed in, following a breach in the dyke at Betkundi, allegedly by miscreants, and Sarma alleged that the flood in the town is "man made". The state government has transported 3,575 food packets to Silchar from Guwahati and Jorhat.
Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya on Monday visited Borjalenga and Narsinghpur development blocks in his constituency Dholai to inspect the delivery of relief materials for the flood-affected people.
(With PTI Inputs)
