Assam floods: Death toll rises to 126; Barpeta remains the worst affected with nearly 7 lakh people in distress

(Credit: PTI)

Barpeta remains the worst affected with nearly 7 lakh people in distress, followed by Nagaon with nearly 5.13 lakh people affected by the deluge and Cachar with over 2.77 lakh people affected by the floods. According to reports, urban flooding was also experienced at several places in Cachar, Dibrugarh and Morigaon districts.

Amid the grim floods situation, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Silchar in Cachar and Hajo in Kamrup on Sunday. He also visited the Barak valley area where a resident braved flood waters to greet him with a 'Gamusa'. He issued instructions to agencies involved in the relief and rescue operations to maximise their reach and ensure help at the earliest.

#WATCH | Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the flood affected Barak valley area where a resident braved flood waters to greet him with a 'Gamusa' pic.twitter.com/VOvQayYBoo

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2022

With Silchar town submerged in flood waters for a week, Sarma conceded that the administration had not been able to reach all the marooned people yet. He was quoted by PTI as saying that about "50 per cent work of the administration" is being done by philanthropic organisations and people. Sarma also appealed to people to stand by each other during this time of distress.

At present, 2,542 villages are under water and 74,706.77 hectares of crop area have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said. It said authorities are operating 680 relief camps and distribution centres in 23 districts, where 2,17,413 people, including 61,878 children, are taking shelter.

Moreover, a total of 15,90,557 animals and poultry have been affected in the deluge across 15 districts, the report said.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma reviews the damage caused by Baralia river by visiting Samukha embankment breach point at Koyan under Hajo LAC in Kamrup district this evening. (Credit: @himantabiswa)

So far, 1,912 people have been evacuated from various flood-hit parts of Assam in the last 24 hours. The ASDMA said massive erosion and damage to embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure due to flood waters were reported from several districts.