Thousands of people have been displaced in the Basbari area of Assam’s Bongaigaon district after the Aie River flooded their homes. Many of them have sought refuge on roadways and in high places.
Floodwaters have destroyed multiple roads in the area and washed away many dwellings. Many people in the Basbari area are facing major issues, such as a food crisis and a lack of safe drinking water, and many have turned homeless. Locals fear that the flood situation in the area may worsen after Bhutan’s Kurichu dam authorities began releasing surplus water on Friday morning.
On Friday morning, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Kurichu dam authority had begun discharging excess water.
“The excess water is being carefully redirected through the gates to control the flow. According to reports, the weather in the upstream of the plant has improved since yesterday. Therefore the amount of water coming in may not be huge. We are closely monitoring the situation,” Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the water level of the Brahmaputra river at Dhubri, Neamatighat in Jorhat district, Beki river at Road Bridge, and Disang river at Nanglamuraghat in Sivasagar district is above the danger level mark.
The current flood has affected over 42,000 people across eight districts and two sub-divisions. Flood floods have swamped 2212 hectares of cropland in flood-affected regions.
Earlier on Tuesday, the flooding in Assam’s Lakhimpur district worsened when numerous new locations were swamped, affecting almost 60,300 people. Flood floods inundated 67 villages within the boundaries of the Lakhimpur district’s four revenue circles.
Meanwhile, the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Tezpur, Sonitpur, and Neamatihat, Jorhat. The flood level of the Disang river was also deemed dangerous near Nanglamuraghat in Sivasagar district.
According to the ASDMA flood report, 2,696 persons were affected in Dhemaji district, while another 2,866 were stranded in Sonitpur district’s Biswanath sub-division.