The flood situation in the northeastern state of Assam has further deteriorated as eight fresh deaths were reported, taking the toll to 46, an official said on Wednesday, adding over 15 lakh people have been affected so far.
An Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) official said that on Wednesday, two persons died in Sonitpur district and one each died in Dibrugarh, Darrang, Golaghat, Biswanath, Tinsukia and Morigaon districts.
According to ASDMA officials, the flood also inundated over 39,451 hectares of crop areas in 2,800 villages.
Over 11.20 lakh domestic animals were also badly affected in the current flood.
The Brahmaputra, Barak, and all their tributaries are flowing above the danger level in many places. The flood damaged 74 roads, 14 embankments, and 6 bridges.
The state government has opened 515 relief camps where around 26,000 people took shelter, while 359 more relief distribution centres are also functioning in different districts.
Many national and state disaster response forces teams have also been deployed for rescue and relief operations.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reviewed the flood scenario in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Tuesday.
The park authorities issued traffic diversions to ensure the safety of animals. The movement of heavy commercial vehicles through the park has been restricted.
Sarma also visited the flood-affected Golaghat district.
He said that several battalions of NDRF and SDRF were working to deal with the situation.
"We have taken help from the Indian Air force wherever required. We have decided to carry out a damage assessment and provide relief to the flood affected people by August 15," the Chief Minister said.
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He said: "To carry out this exercise, ministers will fan out in different districts and camp for three days. I will go to Barak Valley for a couple of days. In September-October, we will be able to allocate funds for the damaged infrastructure and get the same repaired by March next year."
(Except for the headline, this story, from a syndicated feed, has not been edited by Odishatv.in staff)