Home minister Rajnath Singh went on an aerial survey on Saturday of flood-affected areas in Assam, where at least 17 people have been killed by heavy rains, with millions of people also displaced.
“I visited certain flood-affected areas of Assam. The situation is grim but CM (Sarbananda Sonowal) and his team are doing well to manage the situation,” Singh said after a meeting to review the situation in the state.
“NDRF teams are working on the ground. The NDRF along with SDRF and army have saved more than 6,000 lives in Assam... The Centre is ready to provide all possible help. I have received a memorandum from the Assam government. An inter-ministerial team will visit Assam soon,” the home minister added.
Although rainfall decreased as of Saturday, officials in Assam, a tea-growing and oil-rich state, added water levels across rivers were still overflowing. “Overflowing rivers are flooding new areas, making things worse,” said Keshab Mahanta, Assam’s water resource minister.
Authorities in Assam have opened more than 800 temporary shelters and food and medicines distribution centres across the state, a senior official at the state disaster management authority said.
{{/usCountry}}Authorities in Assam have opened more than 800 temporary shelters and food and medicines distribution centres across the state, a senior official at the state disaster management authority said.
{{/usCountry}}Flooding is an annual problem in the region during the monsoon season, but the impact has been worsened by crumbling civic infrastructure, clogged drains and uncontrolled urban expansion.