Over 2 lakh people affected by floods in Assam, Dibrugarh AIR centre stops broadcast

New Delhi: As the flood situation in Assam turns grim with more than two lakh people being evacuated to safer places, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati has predicted more rains for major parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur on Friday and Saturday.

Nearly two lakh people have been affected by the floods, while 11,500-odd persons are in relief camps, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said in their bulletin. As many as nine districts — Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia — were impacted by the floodwaters on Thursday.

In Assam's Dibrugarh the flood water entered the All India Radio Center studios on Thursday forcing the authorites to stop the broadcast. 

Dibrugarh has been receiving heavy rains since Tuesday and the AIR office cum studio complex and residential complex has been waterlogged with knee-deep waters. The district administration has closed Convoy Road, where the studio is located, as the water level rises.

The AIR in Dibrugarh is important for eastern India region due its close proximity to the China-India and Indo-Myanmar borders.

Meanwhile, Bhutan released water from its Kuricchu dam on Thursday further ramping up the water level through the bordering districts of Chirang, Baksa and Barpeta.