The fresh wave of flood in Assam killed another 11 people taking the death toll to 39. The first wave ending mid-July had claimed 84 lives. Officials of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said the deaths due to drowning were reported from six of the 24 flood-affected districts.
“The fresh floods have affected 33.45 lakh people, much more than in the first wave, and 1.39 lakh of them have taken shelter in 629 relief camps,” an ASDMA official said. Notably, railway communication in the Northeast continued to be disrupted because of flood affected portions in Bihar and West Bengal.
“Railway Board has directed all zonal railways to cancel trains travelling from various parts of the country beyond Malda (West Bengal) town and Katihar (Bihar) till August 20. However, for the benefit of stranded passenger, the railway has arranged special trains between Guwahati and Dalkhola in West Bengal,” Pranav Jyoti Sharma, spokesperson of Northeast Frontier Railway, said.
Airlines have cashed in on the rail service disruption, hiking prices of flight tickets to and from Guwahati by more than 50%.
In Bihar, 31 people lost their lives in 48 hours. With this, the figure for flood casualties rose to 72 in the 14 flood affected districts of North Bihar on Wednesday even as reports of thousands of people stranded in the interiors of the Champaran and Seemanchal districts continued to pour in on Wednesday.
Owing to the alarming situation caused by the flash floods, the state government has pressed in 50 rescue teams comprising of columns of the Army, NDRF and SDRF, which include around 2100 trained personnel in the affected districts with 272 boats for evacuation to nearest relief centres, reported Hindustan Times.
