Northeast states remain cut off due to floods, over 30 lakh people hit in Assam

Guwahati: Over 30 lakh people in Assam have been affected by the devastating wave of floods that affected the state in the last few days leading to death of over 20 people and inundating over 3,000 villages in 25 districts even as the entire northeast remained cut off from other parts of the country due to snapped rail lines.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said that 31,59,029 people have been affected by the floods in 3,192 villages in the affected districts. The floods have also submerged close to two lakh hectares of agricultural lands in different districts.

The Railway Board has decided to cancel inbound trains from other parts of the country to the northeastern region as rail links have been snapped in different places due to heavy rains in Assam, West Bengal and in Bihar in the past 72 hours.

The Northeast Frontier Railway has cancelled at least 11 trains and terminated four others on Monday due to heavy rainfall.

NFR Chief Public Relation Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said that rain water has affected railway tracks at several places in Katihar and Alipurduar Division of the NFR and hence all incoming trains to the region have been cancelled till August 16. 

However, trains from New Jalpaiguri/Siliguri to Guwahati, Guwahati to Dibrugarh and Murkongselek continues to be normal and trains in these routes are plying in normal schedule.

Assam had been witnessing severe flooding in the past few days. The recent toll is apart from the 84 persons who died in the first wave of floods that hit the state between April to June.