Assam flood situation grim, toll rises to 125

Guwahati, Jul 10: The

situation in

was grim on Tuesday with vast tracts of land in both Brahmaputra and Barak valleys remaining submerged even as the death toll climbed to 125.

An estimated 24 lakh people have been affected in the worst-ever flood in recent years causing large-scale devastation in 4,540 villages with more than 9.35 lakh hectares of land completely inundated, official sources said.

While the water level of rivers in most of the 27 affected districts was still flowing above the danger mark, it was receding in some districts and maintaining a steady trend in the rest, the sources said.

The death toll of animals in the UNESCO World Heritage Kaziranga National Park, which was devastated in the current wave of flood has risen to 595.

The casualty includes 17 rhinos, 512 hog deers, 28 wild boar, 15 sambars, 10 swamp deers, five porcupines, elephants, hogbadgers and python (two each) and one each of buffalo and jackal respectively, according to the latest official update.

The agriculture sector has been severely affected by the current wave of flood with 2.55 lakh hectares of cropland under water.

Road services have been affected at 2847 places while the rail tracks damaged by landslides in Lumding-Badarpur Railway division are yet to be restored.

An estimated five lakh people have taken shelter in 630 relief camps and 150 medical teams have been deployed to provide medical aid, the sources said.

PTI