Floods hit 5 Assam districts, 8,000 flee homes

GUWAHATI: The year's first floods have affected over 20,000 people in five districts of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Darrang, Kamrup and Udalguri. All five are on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.
The state disaster management authority said on Wednesday that floods have been reported from five revenue circles and 33 villages. It said 20,105 people have been affected."The revenue circles affected are Nowboicha, under Lakhimpur district, Dalgaon, under Darrang district, Halem, under Sonitpur, Goroimari, under Kamrup district, and Mazbat, under Udalguri district," the report added.
There are no reports of any loss of human lives and cattle. More than 8,000 people have left their submerged homes in the four districts and taken shelter in relief camps. The government has set up five relief camps so far; four in Darrang and one in Udalguri.
"As per the Central Water Commission (CWC) report, the Brahmaputra at Nematighat, the Jiabharali river at Sonitpur and the Beki river at Barpeta are flowing above the danger level. In Kamrup (Metro) district, the inland water transport (IWT) department of Guwahati division has temporarily prevented any kind of boats, mechanized or manual, from plying on the Brahmaputra from Thursday due to rising water level," a spokesman of the district administration said.
More than 50 villages have been affected by the floods, with Dalgaon in Darrang district being the worst-hit. Over 800 hectares of crop area have been damaged by flood water.