GUWAHATI, Sept 23 � The overall flood situation in Goalpara district remains grim and bodies of eight persons, including that of a two-year-old girl, who lost their lives in the devastation, have been recovered so far. Road communication through the National Highway remains snapped as the Highway was overtopped in several places even as a bridge on the Highway was damaged.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune that though the water level is receding, the situation remains grim. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Police and Army have been pressed into service to rescue the marooned people.
Sources said that so far bodies of eight persons have been recovered. Seven of them have been identified as two-year-old Aparajita Hajowary, Mawlo Rabha, Shadida Bibi, Manjula Rabha, Momina Beba, Sidhipad Momin and Samar Kalita. One of those killed is yet to be identified.
Sources said that about 500 students of Dudhnoi Navodaya Vidyalaya had a narrow escape as they were rescued even as the building was being inundated by flood waters.
Though an Indian Air Force helicopter was pressed into service this morning for rescuing marooned people, it was not of much use as there was no place for it to land, while it was not easy for the people to get on tin roof tops to be rescued by the chopper. However, the chopper sorties helped the administration in getting a proper picture of the extent of the damages.
It may take some time to restore the road communication as the National Highway 37 was inundated at several places, while thousands of people are taking shelter on the same along with their cattle. Moreover, the approach to a bridge near Krishnai was washed away and it may take some time to repair the bridge. Sources said that the entire Highway is now packed with marooned people as well as vehicles coming from Guwahati and from the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. That is why traffic management has become a major problem, sources said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed Agriculture Minister Nilamani Sen Deka to visit Goalpara for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
Our Goalpara Correspondent adds: Death toll from the flash floods in the district has gone up to 8 with 6 more deaths reported today as more than 1.4 lakh people have been affected and left stranded in an unprecedented flash flood caused by heavy rains and from gushing waters from the neighbouring Garo Hills in Meghalaya inundating over 100 villages and damaging standing crops as well, particularly in the stretch between Dudhnoi and Bolbola and also some of the adjoining areas in the district.
This Correspondent, who visited the flood-affected areas in Bolbola, saw many houses still submerged under water even though the water level at different places have shown signs of receding and according to witnesses, people are still stranded in some of the badly affected villages, like Charapara, Garomari, Tekelpara, Khasikhagra, Taranti, Kotasi Bari, Geradubi, Kalpani, Bodhapur, Paglijhara, Tiapara, etc., in and around the Bobola area where rescue operations are still going on.
Meanwhile, the rescue, relief and rehabilitation on a large scale is continuing for the second day today as most of the affected people have been shifted to the 54 relief camps set up by the district administration and the administration is also reaching out to those who have been stuck in different flood-affected places and providing them with relief materials. Along with essential food items, the PHE have started to provide packet water from mobile treatment plant van, water purifying tablets, and bleaching powders to the affected people.
Talking to this Correspondent, Deputy Commissioner Preetom Saikia said that he is coordinating all the rescue-and-relief activities and more than 1,000 stranded people were rescued today by the 2 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) brought from Nalbari and Guwahati and 4 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from Goalpara, Nalbari, Dhubri and Barpeta who were already pressed into service earlier. He also said that the situation is under control and likely to improve provided there is no further rainfall.
