Hundreds of thousands of flood-affected people in India’s northeastern state of Assam face starvation as food supplies dry up and roads are cut off after heavy rains, officials said on Friday.
The Dhemaji district 465km east of Assams
capital Guwahati has been hammered by flash floods, triggered by monsoon rains, that have submerged at least 50 villages and marooned up to 50 000 people.
”Road communication between Dhemaji district and the rest of Assam has remained snapped since Tuesday with floodwaters overtopping the national highway in at least three places,” said Biswaranjan Samal, Dhemaji district magistrate.
Samal said supplies of essential goods have stopped, leading to a ”crisis-like” situation in the district.
”Very soon, the existing stocks would dry up and there would be scarcity of food and medicines, besides petrol and kerosene,” Samal said.
”We are particularly worried about the possibility of
water-borne diseases breaking out with the hospitals here having virtually no medicines at all.”
Samal said medicines worth 2,5 million rupees were urgently required to treat people with symptoms of diarrhoea and fever.
With more heavy rains forecast and flood control officials warning that the river Brahmaputra was rising steadily, the Assam government has put police, paramilitary and disaster management teams on standby to assist civil authorities.
The river Jiadhol, a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra, was still flowing above the danger mark at various places.
”There have been breaches of embankments in at least three places and many more dykes are being threatened by the gushing floodwaters,” district police chief NM Haque said.
Haque said hundreds of policemen were checking the major embankments for signs of breaching.
Villagers were sheltering in makeshift camps and in schools with their homes either washed away or inundated by floodwaters, officials said.
”Like each year, the floods have washed away all their personal belongings and properties, including granaries — all in a flash,” said Dilip Saikia Sonowal, a local lawmaker.
”We have been repeatedly urging the government to come up with permanent flood control measures and construct more embankments to take the pressure away. But our pleas have gone unanswered.”
The district magistrate said unless makeshift bridges were constructed along the national highway leading to Dhemaji, supplies of essentials would not be possible.
”There would be starvation and hunger in Dhemaji and people would die of ailments if we cannot get fresh supplies of food and medicines,” Samal said. -Sapa-AFP