Assam flood situation continues to improve; 7000 still affected

There was a marked improvement in Assam's flood situation on Thursday, as the number of affected people has reduced by more than half over the last 24 hours while that of the districts reeling under the deluge went down by one, a government bulletin said.

The Brahmaputra river and its major tributaries are also flowing below the danger level in majority of the flood-prone areas.

Altogether 7,005 people are now affected by the flood in eight districts, compared to the previous day's figure of 16,896 in nine districts, according to the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

No flood-related fatality was reported during the day and the death toll in the current wave of the deluge remained unchanged at eight.

Altogether 228 villages are now under floodwaters and a crop area of 11522.71 hectares have been submerged, the bulletin said.

The eight affected districts are Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Golaghat, Hojai, Kamrup Rural, Kamrup Metro and Morigaon.

Large scale erosion was reported from the districts of Bishwanath, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, Morigaon and Sonitpur.

The deluge has caused infrastructural damage in Golaghat and Hojai though no major roads or embankments were affected during the day.

More than 16 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve area is still under floodwaters of the Brahmaputra and seven of its 223 camps are inundated, a Park official said.

A body of a matured male rhino was recovered near Tunikati forest camp under Burapahar range of the Park on Thursday, taking the total number of rhinos dying during the flood to three.

Besides, 22 other animals - two swamp deer, 17 hog deer, a python, a wild buffalo and a cap langur - have died while five animals were rescued by the forest personnel, the official said.