Assam floods: 12.5 lakh affected, Kaziranga Nat Park inundated

Flood situation in Assam remains critical with the Brahmaputra river overflowing in several districts, submerging houses and agricultural fields of around 12.5 lakh people and inundating Kaziranga National Park, authorities said today.
Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) today said the deluge has taken away chunks of main roads in Morigaon, Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts, snapping road communications and breached river embankments in Kokrajhar, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh and Golaghat districts causing water to rush into vast tracks of human habitation.
The Brahmaputra and its tributaries are overflowing in 18 districts of the state, flooding Rhino homelands in Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wild Life Sanctuary.

The flood-hit districts, where the swollen Brahmaputra and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level, are Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Dibrugarh, Chirang, Goalpara, Tinsukia, Dhubri, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Darrang districts, the ASDMA said.
The army, SDRF and NDRF are assisting the district administrations in evacuating the affected population to safer places, the authority said.
An adult male rhino was drowned in a river in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) due to the floods and its carcass with its horn intact was recovered today near Siga camp under Agoratoli camp, close on the heels of another such dead rhino which was found there two days ago, Forest Department officials said.

Five hog deer were killed by speeding vehicles at Panbari in KNP area when they were crossing NH-37 from the Park towards highlands of Karbi Anglong district this afternoon, the officials said.
There are 16 animal corridors on the NH-37 through which various types of animals from the Park side cross over to Karbi Anglong hills during floods, they said.