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| Photo Credit: Reuters

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A villager shifts his belongings from a flood affected area to a safer place, at Kaliabor in Nagaon district on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 15 spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and took stock of the flood situation in the State. The Home Minister also spoke with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and inquired about the increased water level in both States.

He also assured the CMs of providing Central assistance as well as support of the National Disaster Response Force to combat the crisis.

Mr. Shah reached out to the Chief Ministers of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat in separate telephonic conversations to assess the flood situation as well as the surge in water level due to heavy rainfall.

The proactive engagement by the Union Home Minister comes as the Assam flood and the resulting surge in waters continue to affect thousands of people across these States.

The flood situation in Assam remains grim, with the death toll rising to more than 90 as per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). More than 5 lakh people across 18 districts are reeling under the deluge, with Assam’s Cachar being the worst-hit district.

The flood-affected districts in Assam include Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karimganj, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, and Sivasagar.

On the other hand, 1,342 villages under 52 revenue circles are still under water and the flood waters submerged 25367.61 hectares of crop area in Assam.

The water level of the Brahmaputra River is flowing above the danger level mark at Neamatighat, Tezpur and Dhubri while the Burhidihing River is flowing above the danger level mark at Chenimari (Knhowang), Disang River at Nanglamuraghat. Over 58,000 people are still taking shelter in 172 relief camps and distribution centres in 13 districts. 2,83,712 domestic animals were also affected by the deluge.

The situation in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the eastern and central regions, is also under observation after an increase in the water levels of several rivers following incessant rains impacting around 18 lakh people in more than 900 villages.

As per officials, nearly 18 districts, including Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Barabanki, Sitapur, Gonda Siddharth Nagar, Moradabad, Bareilly and Basti in Uttar Pradesh were affected by increased water level.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier conducted an aerial survey of the affected districts and directed the officials to provide all possible assistance to the affected people.

Due to heavy rain in the Valsad district in Gujarat, many low-lying areas have been inundated, and the national highway was also flooded. Teams from disaster cells were deployed to drain the water from these areas. Additionally, the heavy rains caused the water level in Madhuban Dam to rise.

Surat, Gujarat:

With heavy rain lashing Gujarat since Sunday, 11,900 people living in low-lying areas in Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts have been shifted to shelter homes while 270 stranded citizens were rescued.

In a statement, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees.

According to officials, more than 6,000 people living along the banks of the Narmada River in the Bharuch district have been shifted to safer places in the last two days after the water level rose to 40 feet due to discharge from the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Several areas in Bharuch city and tehsil and many localities and villages in Ankleshwar are still under knee-deep water even though the water level has been decreasing slowly since Monday morning.

Narmada Above Danger Mark

The current water level of the Narmada River is 37.72 feet, nearly 10 feet above the danger mark of 28 feet, at the Golden Bridge that connects Ankleshwar to Bharuch, said an official of Bharuch District Emergency Response Centre (BDERC).

On Sunday, the water level of the river went up to 40 feet at the bridge due to heavy discharge of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) located upstream.

Dandiya Bazaar and other areas in Bharuch city, and several societies and villages in Ankleshwar city and taluka are still inundated in knee-deep water. The situation is improving gradually as water is slowly decreasing, the BDERC official said.

In view of heavy rains in different parts of Gujarat, the Chief Minister said he has been in constant touch with collectors of the affected districts.

“Relief and rescue operations are being carried out wherever needed with the help of 10 teams of both NDRF and SDRF. In all, nearly 11,900 persons living in low-lying areas of Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts were shifted to shelter homes.

“As many as 270 stranded citizens were rescued by the administration while work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees,” CM Patel said.

Meanwhile, Army personnel rescued 12 people stranded on a small island in the Narmada river passing from Karjan taluka in Vadodara district after a 48-hour operation, a government release said.

“After 48 hours of the rescue operation, Army personnel successfully rescued and brought these 12 people, including women and children, on the shore on Monday morning using boats,” it stated.

More Rains In Gujarat

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said “extremely heavy rainfall” occurred at isolated places in Arvalli, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, and Sabarkantha districts during the last 24 hours ending at 8:30 am (on Monday).

The IMD predicted “light to moderate” rain at several places across Gujarat on Monday and Tuesday.

As per the rainfall data shared by the State Emergency Operations Centre, 29 tehsils received more than 40 mm downpour between 6 am and 2 pm on Monday.

Visavadar taluka in Junagadh district received 283 mm of rainfall in the eight hours till 2 pm.

Visavadar was followed by Mendarda taluka in Junagadh (165 mm), Radhanpur in Patan (156 mm), Bhabhar in Banaskantha (144 mm), Vanthali in Junagadh (129 mm), Deodar in Banaskantha (108 mm), Deesa in Banaskantha (91 mm), Mehsana tehsil (91 mm) and Bagsara in Amreli district (91 mm).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)