Friday, June 18, 2010

Flood fury hits Jorhat

GUWAHATI, June 17 – Jorhat has become the latest district in Assam to face the flood fury with nearly one lakh people being affected in the last two days, officials said today.

Lakhimpur in Brahmaputra valley and Cachar and Karimganj in Barak valley have been already hit by floods.

In Jorhat district, Bhogdoi river breached the dyke at Maloupathar area submerging over 35 villages with 1000 families and inundating more than 1000 hectares of farm land with standing crops and vegetables, the officials said.

Several schools, five colleges, 20 temples of historical importance were also inundated forcing closure of educational institutions for the next three days.

The affected people were taking shelter on the Bar Ali ‘bundh’ (dyke)-cum-road, they said.

In Titabor subdivision, in Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s constituency, Choraipani river had caused breaches in two places between Dangdhora and Bhekuriagaon inundating around 45 villages housing nearly 10,000 people, 20 schools and agricultural fields.

With the Brahmputra rising at Neamatighat, its tributary Choraipani, was flowing above the danger level near Kakodanga overtopping the Dhudar Ali inter state – road connecting Jorhat and Nagaland, they said.

Another road, Nagabat to Nagaland was also under water affecting the collection of crude oil from the Sarupathar and Borhula gas gathering stations (GGS) of the ONGC to be transported by oil tankers to the refineries by road.

River island Majuli in Jorhat district was also affected by the rising Brahmaputra submerging its outer adjoining low-lying areas, they said.

Water-borne diseases like dysentery and viral fever had broken out in Majuli, besides other diseases affecting cattle following the floods, official sources said.

The district administration was providing relief and rehabilitation to the affected, the sources said, adding medical camps have been set up to provide healthcare facilities.

In worst-hit Lakhimpur district, a heavy downpour inundated Lakhimpur, Naoboicha and Bihpuria revenue circles, while the Kakoio dyke was washed away by the swirling water of Brahmaputra’s tributaries – Ranganadi, Singora, Kakoi, Boginade, Gavaru, Bogolee, Subansiri and Dikmong.

The floodwaters of Dikmong river have submerged a part of National Highway 52 near Harmoti, disrupting road communication, the sources said.

More than 30,000 people have been marooned and the district’s deputy commissioner Jayant Narlikar visited the flood-hit areas.

In the twin districts of Karimganj and Cachar in Barak valley, normal life was hit as hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes with rivers Barak, Longai and Kushiara in spate having submerged their homes.

In Karimganj, a 100 metre long barbed wire fencing along neighbouring Bangladesh was swept away by the Kushiara as Patharkandi and Neelambazaar areas in the district were the worst affected. – PTI

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