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The bustling Silchar town in Assam is reeling under the worst floods in memory. Nearly 96,972 persons are affected by floods in the Silchar town of Cachar district as per the state disaster management. On June 17, the flooding in Silchar had reached unprecedented levels after residents damaged a part of the Barak river’s embankment in the Bethukandi area.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the flood in Silchar was a man-made disaster even as he conceded not all the marooned could be reached with relief material. If the embankment at Betukandi were not breached, this would not have happened. He added that he had instructed officials to file a case with the police. The breach of embankment will be probed and the culprits will face law. Lapses, if any, on the part of officials will also be investigated, he warned.
Earlier, the District Disaster Management Authority of Cachar had issued an advisory but many residents did not take it seriously as the town had never seen such a flood. Officials and agencies are engaged in the distribution of relief, to maximise their reach to ensure that all the affected could be taken care of. The town has a population of 1.5 lakh. There is no water supply. The biggest problem for the denizens has been the lack of drinking water. Many of them are surviving on floodwater. They boil it and drink.
The state disaster management authority informed that floods in Assam has taken the cumulative tally of dead people in the state to 134. The administration of South Assam's Cachar district said that they have never before seen such a disaster before and they would 'fight till last moment' to rescue people as the flood wreaked havoc in Silchar and its adjoining areas disrupt.
The five fatalities were reported from Barpeta, Darrang, Cachar, Morigaon and Karimganj districts. Of these, four were children. The total number of persons affected by the floods is 33,03,316 in the 28 districts of the state. Overall 45,34,048 persons were affected by the deluge in 30 districts. Families who have lost their members during the flood are also unable to take the bodies to the crematoria because of the high flood waters and the Cachar district administration is also unable to reach them.
Meanwhile, the flood has been severe on the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. It has been greatly affected by water-logging, large-scale power outage, network loss and food and drinking water crisis.
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