Assam Floods: Over 67,000 Affected In 17 Districts After Bhutan Releases Water From Reservoir

Over 67,000 people were affected after Assam went into a high alert on Friday with the release of water from Bhutan's Kuricchu Dam. Severe flooding impacted 17 districts as water levels of major rivers including Brahmaputra crossed the danger mark. The district authorities have set up 78 relief camps and distribution centres with 4,531 inmates taking shelter in the camps.

A population of 67,689 were affected on Friday as against the previous day's 41,000 but no death was reported during the day and the toll remained at seven in the current wave of floods, according to the bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The affected districts include Baksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpuyt, Majuliu, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Tamulpur and Tinsukia. Several rivers in Assam were flowing above the danger level including the Beki, which originates from Bhutan and flows through Assam’s Baksa and Barpeta districts.

Floods in Assam

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted heavy rainfall in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan in the coming days. Dr Nandita Dutta, District Project Officer (DPO) Barpeta urged people to take necessary preparatory measures. 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had tweeted earlier that excess water is being carefully redirected through the gates to control flow but with the improvement in the upstream neighbouring country, the amount of water released may not be huge. Today, he said that the water level in all four rivers of Lower Assam remains below the danger level, despite the release of excess water from the Kurichu Dam.

A crop area of 2,770 hectares has been damaged while 49,535 animals were also affected. An embankment was damaged in Majuli and 18 roads were damaged in Barpeta, Chirang, Dhubri, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Sivasagar and Sonitpur districts. Large-scale erosion was also reported from Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Sivasagar, and Tamulpur, the bulletin added.