Toll in Assam floods now 33, over 12 lakh affected

Guwahati, July 10 (IANS) Seven more persons, including three minors, have died in floods and landslides in Assam since Sunday, taking the death toll to 33 this year, officials said on Monday.

Over 12,55,692 people have been affected in the floods in over 2,000 villages in 20 districts of the state, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said on Monday.

The flood-affected districts include Lakhimpur, Darrang, Golaghat, Jorhat, Cachar, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Karimganj, Sonitpur, Majuli, Barpeta, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Morigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Kokrajhar and South Salmara.

The flood waters have also affected over one lakh hectares of agricultural land damaging standing crops, the officials said, adding that "seven persons have died due to drowning and landslides in the past 24 hours".

Among the deceased are two minor boys, aged four and six, who drowned at Teok and Kheroni areas of Jorhat district, while the third one, a 12-year-old, drowned in Matia area of Golapara, the officials said.

Apart from this, three others -- two due to drowning and one in a landslide -- died in Lakhimpur district and another person drowned in Golaghat district, the officials said on Monday.

As of Monday, district administrations have opened 148 relief camps in 10 districts housing over 18,000 people. Apart from this, over 70 relief centres have also been opened across the state to help the affected.

The officials said that a huge chunk of infrastructure, including roads, houses and bridges, has also been damaged.

The ASDMA officials said that several rivers including the Brahmaputra, Siang, Subansiri, Dhansiri, Jia Bhorali, Puthimari, Beki, Barak and Kushiara are also flowing above danger level in different parts of the state.