Assam flood: 'Concerned' Amit Shah speaks to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, assures all possible help as around two lakh people hit due to rainfall

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (May 17, 2022) expressed his "concern" over the Assam flood and said that he spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take stock of the situation. Shah assured Sarma of all possible help from the central government and said that NDRF teams have already been deployed to the flood-hit northeastern state.

"Concerned about the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of Assam. Spoke to CM Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma to take stock of the situation. NDRF teams are already been deployed. Assured all possible help from the central government," Shah tweeted.

Concerned about the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of Assam. Spoke to CM Shri @himantabiswa to take stock of the situation. NDRF teams are already been deployed. Assured all possible help from the central government. — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 17, 2022

Hon HM Shri @AmitShah ji kindly called to enquire about the flood situation in Assam. Expressing concern over problems faced by citizens, he said Central Government is ready to extend all possible help to Assam in this moment of natural calamity. Grateful Sir.@HMOIndia — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 17, 2022

Around 2 lakh people in several districts of Assam have been hit by floods.

According to the reports, so far 24 districts namely Bajali, Baksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Dima-Hasao, Hojai, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong West, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Udalguri, Jorhat, Kamrup Metro have been affected due to the flood in Assam.

A total of 811 villages are said to be hit due to the flood in the state while 1,277 houses are fully and 5,262 are partially damaged.

#Flood_Rescue #Update
@12bnndrf evacuates
57 Female, 39 M & 6 child
from flooded area of
Gohpur, Distt-Biswanath, Assam
shifts them to Relief Camps#आपदा_सेवा_सदैव_सर्वत्र @PMOIndia@HMOIndia@BhallaAjay26@AtulKarwal@PIBHomeAffairs@PIB_India@PIB_Guwahati pic.twitter.com/dsgB5bR1RG — NDRF  (@NDRFHQ) May 17, 2022

Landslides snap road, rail links to southern Assam, parts of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur

Landslides have also been reported in Dima Hasao, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts. Surface links to Assam's Barak Valley and Dima Hasao district and to neighbouring states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur remained snapped on Tuesday as incessant rains triggered landslides and washed off roads as well as railway tracks in multiple locations of Assam and Meghalaya.

Landslides in different locations in Assam's Dima Hasao district disrupted road as well as rail connectivity. 

In view of massive landslide in Meghalaya, movements of passengers & heavy vehicles carrying goods have been severely affected in the Barak Valley. I have requested Hon CM Shri @SangmaConrad to kindly intervene and extend help. He has assured all possible cooperation. — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 17, 2022

In Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district landslides cut off road communication to Barak Valley in southern Assam and vital parts of the three northeastern states.

East Jaintia Hills police has alerted about fresh landslides under its jurisdiction.

Class 11 exams suspended due to floods

The Higher Secondary first year (class 11) examinations in Assam starting from Wednesday have been suspended partially due to floods and extensive damage caused by heavy rains in the last few days. The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSCE), which conducts the exams, in a notification issued on Tuesday informed all the heads of the institutions under it that the Higher Secondary first year examinations to be held till Saturday are suspended until further order.

The exams that were scheduled to be completed on June 1 have been suspended due to "prevailing inclement weather and in view of damages being caused by the natural calamities in the state".

(With agency inputs)