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| Residents look at the rising water level of the Bhogdoi in Assam’s Jorhat district on Sunday. Picture by UB Photos |
Jorhat, June 24: The flood situation in Upper Assam turned grim today with most of the rivers flowing above the danger level and submerging vast areas.
The Brahmaputra is flowing nearly 54cm above the danger level at Neemati and nearly 8cm above danger level at Dibrugarh this evening.
“The water level is set to rise in the next 24 hours with heavy rain in the Arunachal Pradesh hills,” an official of the water resources department said.
Ferry service between Dhola and Sadiya in Tinsukia district was suspended today following a rise in the water level of the Brahmaputra. Heavy rain has also made visibility very poor for navigation forcing the authorities to suspend the ferry service, the lifeline for the several districts in Arunachal Pradesh.
A ferry, carrying nearly 100 passengers from Neemati in Jorhat district to Majuli, got stuck in the middle of the Brahmaputra because of a technical snag and poor visibility this morning.
It was towed to safety by another ferry after being stranded for over two hours.
Inland water transport department sources said the ferry took a wrong route and got stuck on a sandbar.
Floods have affected more than 70 villages in Majuli in the past 24 hours.
Half-yearly examinations in many government schools in the flood-hit areas have been postponed.
The affected persons have alleged that although it has been more than 24 hours, there have been no relief and rescue operations by the sub-divisional administration.
The floodwaters of the Bhogdoi river washed away the road-cum-embankment connecting Nahatiya village with Bormer in western Jorhat yesterday, submerging nearly 10 villages.
Flood control department sources said nearly 200 metres of the embankment was swept away by the gushing waters of the river yesterday afternoon.
Just a few days ago, nearly 700 metres of the same embankment, washed away by the river last year, were repaired.
Large areas in the Teok area on the outskirts of Jorhat have been submerged by floodwaters of the Janji river flowing above the danger level.
There are reports of several bridges in the interior areas in Teok being swept away by the floodwaters.
A Jorhat district administration official said although large areas in western and eastern parts of the districts have been reeling under floods, there was no report of any casualty.
“We are taking stock of the situation. We will have to open relief camps if the floodwaters do not recede soon,” he said.
More than 12 villages have been submerged by floodwaters in the Dhola area, affecting thousands of people. Nearly 1,000 people have been rescued in the Dhola area and a relief camp opened at Saikhowa Hindi school.
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