Majuli flood scene improves :

GUWAHATI, Sept 26 – The overall flood situation in Majuli river island has improved and water level of the Brahmaputra is receding at a faster pace providing great relief to the flood-hit islanders.

The flood waters of the Brahmaputra and the Subansiri which entered the island through the breached portion of the Brahmaputra dyke at Sonowal Kachari on September 23 inundated about 90 per cent of the land area of the island.

According to SDO (Civil) of the Majuli subdivision Loya Maduri, 235 villages, including 167 revenue villages under 20 Gaon Panchayats of the island, were submerged by the flood waters.

Around 1.66 lakh people belonging to 31,600 families were affected. Around 75,000 hectares of land, including 22,857 hectares of crop area, were affected by the flood waters.

The flood water caused three breaches at Borbil, Pahumora and between Kamalabari and Auniati on the PWD roads and one on the E&D dyke at Sonowal Kachari.

Two State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed to evacuate the affected people from Ahatguri and Dakshin Ahatguri Chapori. Nine motor boats have also been pressed into service for rescue operations, etc., the SDO said.

The civil administration is supplying drinking water cleaning medicines among the people.

The affected people are taking shelter on the embankments and PWD roads on their own and there is no report of flood-related death or outbreak of any diseases from any part of the island, she said.

Upper Assam Commissioner Syed Iftikhar Hussain told this correspondent that the assessment of the damage caused to the public infrastructure and private property by the flood would be done after the flood waters recede completely.

He said that all the Community Health Centres (CHCs), Public Health Centres (PHCs) and Health Sub-Centres were submerged by the flood waters.

Loya said that medical camps are held to provide medical aid to the flood-hit people.

Principal of the Pitambardev Goswami College, Garamur, Ghana Nath alleged while talking to this correspondent that the devastation caused by the Brahmaputra and Subansiri flood waters could have been prevented had the Water Resources Department raised the height of the coffer dam they had built after the breach caused by the Brahmaputra in its dyke at Sonowal Kachari. The height of the coffer dam was kept lower than the high flood level of the island and this led to its overtopping by the flood waters this time and finally it was breached, Nath said.

The flood waters breached the southern approach of the bridge over Daria Dubi on the North Lakhimpur-Kamalabari Road, a portion of the Pahumara-Garamur-Jengrai-Haladhibari Road at Borbil and a part of the Majuli Road, he said.

The Auniati, Natun Kamalabari, Uttar Kamalabari, Bengenaati, Bhogpur, Madhya Majuli, Kamalabari, Narasimha, Natun Chamaguri, Alengi, Alengi Bahjengoni, Chakala, Ahatguri, Belesidhia, Adhar, Owa, etc., sattras of the island are under water since September 23. The around 300 namghars of the island were also unable to celebrate the Sankar Janmatosava this time, Nath said.

(News from The Assam Tribune Epaper)

-Abakash Majuli