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Dibrugarh remains waterlogged for third day

By Staff correspondent

DIBRUGARH, Aug 31 - Waterlogging here continues to be grim even as the mother and son duo, who were washed away by the fury of the surging Sessa river near Thakurtan yesterday evening, remained untraced and one Nabin Saikia was electrocuted in the Sankardev colony near here when a live wire came in contact with the flood water in his room while he was trying to unplug his inverter.

The mother and son identified as Monika Das and Dudu Das respectively, who reportedly drowned, were from Lekai Natun Gaon. The incident occurred when they were trying to cross the river. Milon Das, the father of Dudu Das was also carried away by the surging waters, but he managed to get hold of some wild shrubs and was later rescued.

The deluge has left thousands homeless in the district. The floods in the district and waterlogging in the city has wreaked havoc mainly in the Chabua, Tengakhat, Dibrugarh West and Dibrugarh East revenue circles. Four more houses were eroded by the Brahmaputra river in the Rohmoria area today.

A disaster management official here said that an estimated 51,000 people were affected and about 2,100 hectares of standing crops had gone under the flood water. �About 18,000 flood-affected people have been taking shelter in 48 different relief camps in the district. As relief measures, ration items like rice, dal, salt and candle have been distributed to the affected people. The SDRF and Civil Defence personnel have also been deployed for relief and rescue,� Deepjyoti Hatikakoty, the project officer of the district�s Disaster Management cell told The Assam Tribune.

As the city�s entire area, including roads and lanes, remained submerged for the third day, the Superintendent of Police has sought refuge in the Circuit House. The flood water has also spilled over to the residential campuses of Union Minister of State Sarbananda Sonowal, former minister Prithibi Majhi and current and former MLAs. The surface communications have also remained hampered due to the deluge. The nearby stretches of the National Highway 37 and all roads leading to the Assam Medical College and Hospital within the municipality area have been inundated and thus making communication tormenting. Rainwater has also spilled into the municipal, judicial, SP and DC offices, making a mockery of the administrative system here.

Power supply to all localities here have been switched off since Sunday afternoon, following reports of current leakage at transformer sites. Overworked ASEB personnel are restoring power after checking for leakages at each of the 100 odd transformer sites in the city, making the process cumbersome. By late this evening, half of Dibrugarh�s power supply has been restored, while the other localities will have to wait till the water recedes.

Meanwhile, the district administration today brought in three high velocity water pumps from Oil India Limited (OIL), Duliajan and has been pumping out water from the city to the Brahmaputra river.

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