Assam floods : Many areas face wide-scale devastation

The perennial Assam floods are causing wide-scale devastation this year as well. From washing away homes, schools and roads to destroying hundreds of hectares of crops, the floods have left a zillion people in a state of misery. Already under a threat due to the ongoing pandemic, these people are now at their wit's end seeing the devastation caused by this natural calamity

Several places of the state are under the grip of floods. Not just Brahmaputra, but even rivers like Kopili and Dikhow are swelling.

More than 50% of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and around 25% of the Kaziranga National Park are inundated respectively, magnifying the plight of the wildlife there.

As many animals are migrating to the nearby Karbi hills to escape the floods, the District Administration has put a speed limit of 40 km/hour for passengers travelling on the NH-37 Highway adjacent to the Kaziranga National Park.

People living in several places in and around Gohpur like Bordoloni and Toltoli are living in a state of fear and apprehension due to floods. The Brahmaputra, which is in spate, has eroded a couple of PWD roads connecting these areas with one another, thus snapping communication ties to a certain degree. With submerged roads, people are either using small countryside boats or are wading through the waters to do their routine activities.

The surging waters of Kopili have unleashed a threat to the very existence of a village in Jagi Road. The fears of the people of the Sorukuloi village know no bounds, as the river is causing wide-scale soil erosion, and has already gobbled up a school and a PWD road.

The flood situation is also tense in Nazira. The Dikhow river, despite subsiding with time, continue being a threat, with many families who had to abandon their homes earlier, still not being able to return to their residence.   

Same is the condition of hundreds of people living in several villages under the Jonai sub-division. Being very close to Arunachal Pradesh, the rising waters of Siang-Lali river are making their lives go helter-skelter.

Riparian villages and floodplain areas are mostly affected, with several of them such as Kobu Sapori, Tarimaj Gaon, Sonowal Kathoni and Haripur Deuri facing the threat of being submerged. Public has also complained about lack of enough relief measures from the government.