Over 33% of flood deaths in 8.82% area of Assam
The Hindu
Floods in Assam's Barak Valley claim lives, highlighting need for better flood management in the region.
GUWAHATI
More than 33% of the people who died in two waves of floods in Assam since May were from Barak Valley comprising 8.82% of the State’s total geographical area.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the floods in receding mode claimed the lives of five people on Wednesday. This took the flood-related death toll to 84.
The death of two more people – both in the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district – has been listed separately under the category of urban floods while two others died in a rain-induced landslide close to Assam’s border with Meghalaya.
One of the five who died during the last 24 hours was the 22nd victim of the flood in Barak Valley’s Cachar district. Six more died in the remaining two districts of the valley – four in Hailakandi and two in Karimganj.
Barak Valley covers an area of 6,922 sq. km, which works out to 8.82% of Assam’s total geographical area of 78,438 sq. km.
People in Barak Valley said the annual floods cause as much or more devastation in their region compared to the much larger Brahmaputra Valley.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sought a report from the State government on a complaint that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had taken up works amounting to ₹387 crore in violation of rules in Varuna and Srirangapatna Assembly constituencies, allegedly on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s oral instructions.
“We are organising a health research convention, which comprises a couple of workshops, community-based learning, and also cardiac care. We also included a one-day seminar on medical education, how medical education has evolved in India and the U.K., and what we can learn from each other” said Dr. Piruthivi Sukumar Dean of the International Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Leeds during his interaction with The Hindu.