Heavy rains flood parts of Tripura, hundreds move to relief camps

A heavy downpour since Thursday night flooded this Tripura capital and the adjoining sub-divisions, forcing hundreds of families to take shelter in 50 relief camps, officials said here on Friday.

An unprecedented nearly 200 mm rainfall was recorded by the meteorological department, which predicted heavier showers for the next 24 hours to Saturday evening.

A report of the State Emergency Response Centre of the Disaster Management wing said several major rivers, including Howrah River, which passes through the capital city, were flowing above the danger mark.

Almost all parts of the capital city and its outskirts, including major roads, remain submerged in rain water.

An official of the Disaster Management wing said that over 2,000 families had taken shelter in around 50 relief camps in different parts of Tripura, mostly in western Tripura.

On Friday evening, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar held a high-level meeting to review the flood situation.

Sarkar directed the district administrations to start control rooms in the affected districts round-the-clock to monitor and to take immediate steps to assist the people, an official at the Chief Minister's Secretariat said.

Earlier in the day, after visiting several flood-affected areas, state's Relief and Revenue Minister Badal Chowdhury said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Tripura State Rifles teams and officials of the district administrations had been deployed to provide relief and rescue to the affected people.

Meteorological Department Director Dilip Saha said more rain was expected till Saturday.

The four-month-long (June-September) southwest monsoon is now active in the entire northeastern region.

Many parts of the state remained dark due to power cut as several transmission lines were disrupted due to the rains.

--IANS

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