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Flood shatters many a dream in Lakhimpur

By Farhana Ahmed

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, July 23 - Santa Das, a peasant from Jainpur village under Telahee Gaon Panchayat of North Lakhimpur Revenue Circle was contemplating to formally inaugurate his newly built nine-room residence later this year, which was nearing completion. The house was constructed with remittance sent by his two sons working in Hyderabad.

Das was planning the Griha Pravesh of the house when his two sons were due to visit him in the coming winter. But on July 9, all his dreams were shattered as flash floods of the Ranganadi swept away everything. The deluge caused by the release of dam waters by NEEPCO�s Ranganadi Hydro Electric Power Plant breached the embankment of the river at Jainpur and destroyed standing crop and properties.

Santa Das lost his newly-constructed house to floods. Same is the story of Jagdeep Gogoi, who too lost one pucca house. The flood waters also swept away his barn where this year�s harvest from 16 bighas of land was stored, besides his produce of potatoes and pumpkins. A fishery measuring one bigha and hundreds of areca nut trees were also destroyed, Jagdeep lamented.

This trail of destruction by the Ranganadi has not only left many homeless, but also deprived them from the fundamental needs like food and shelter.

Tanu Bori, a mother of four at Panigaon has been forced to live under an uprooted tree since the breach of the Ranganadi embankment. Putting up a brave front, she has nevertheless been struggling to make both ends meet along with her four hungry children as her entire agricultural land along with their chang ghar were swept away by the floods.

Though the district administration is providing flood relief material among the marooned people, but the lives of these people may not be the same again.

Meanwhile, a five-member experts� team of the State Government surveyed the breached portions of Bogoleejan and Jainpur of the Ranganadi embankment. The experts� team suggested reconstruction of the embankment at the 175 metre breached portion with total geo-tubes.

Medical camp: The North Lakhimpur circle of Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA) extended a helping hand to the flood victims of North Lakhimpur by holding a free medical camp here on Saturday.

The medical camp was held at Bogoleejan, the worst hit area of this year�s flood where people are still living under water. The ABITA medical team comprised of six doctors from Harmutty, Dejoo, Seajuli, Chinataliyah, Koilamari and Silaneebari Tea Estates who checked the health of more than 220 patients in the medical camp. Free medicines were also distributed among the flood affected people.

Similarly, Bharat Raksha Manch, in association with Zubeen Garg Fun Club is planning to distribute sanitary pads among flood-affected women in North Lakhimpur. Meanwhile, the daily flood report by Lakhimpur district administration has stated that the district has 25 villages with 8,078 persons affected by flood till today and 1705.74 hectares of cropland being damaged. The district authority has also set up one relief camp on the NH-by pass at Bogoleejan with 320 inmates till today. The report also stated the loss of 1,401 numbers of cattle in flood in Lakhimpur district.

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