GUWAHATI, May 30 - The 15th Finance Commission has recognised river erosion as a natural calamity and recommended for adequate compensation, including rehabilitation under SDRF and NDRF, fulfilling a long-standing demand even as the flood situation in the State improved marginally.
This comes following a letter by the State government to the finance panel, requesting it for granting adequate compensatory measures towards relief and rehabilitation of erosion-hit people and consider erosion as a natural calamity.
An official release quoting Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said the Central government had also asked the State to submit a detailed report incorporating the details of those victims rendered landless and homeless due to erosion.
�The State government is preparing a detailed report to be submitted to the Centre. This would ultimately bring to an end to the long-pending problem that the people of Assam have been going through due to erosion,� Sonowal said.
Meanwhile, with another drowning case reported from Kampur area of Nagaon district, the flood death toll has gone up to six during the first wave of flood in the State. According to sources, one Ratul Deka (42) drowned in floodwater while fishing on Friday late evening.
The daily flood report issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) stated that the situation has improved to some extent and the number of affected districts got reduced to six.
Flood has affected around four lakh people in Nalbari, Goalpara, Nagaon, Hojai, West Karbi Anglong and Tinsukia districts. Out of the affected population, a total of 17,770 people are taking shelter at 95 relief camps.
The Kopili river was flowing above the danger level at Kampur and Dharamtul of Nagaon district. Floodwater damaged a number of embankments in Kamrup district, several roads in Goalpara, Hojai, Nagaon and Barpeta districts along with bridges, culverts and other infrastructure in Sonitpur, Nagaon and Udalguri districts in the past 24 hours.
Moreover, incidents of landslides have also been reported from Dima Hasao district at Umrangso-Lanka Road. Flood-triggered erosion also took place at several locations of Biswanath, Sonitpur, Dibrugarh and Majuli districts.
