Assam floods: Gaurav Gogoi urges immediate NDRF deployment, asks Jal shakti minister to visit

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday urged the Centre to rush a team of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to his flood-affected state of Assam due to the heavy rains that have inundated it for the past several days.

Gogoi, the parliamentarian from Jorhat, also requested that the Union Jal Shakti minister should visit the State, stating his concerns over the grave situation in the State where the embankments have been breached in the State and water levels have risen in the rivers.

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"I am present here but my mind and my focus is at the floods in Assam. The situation is very dangerous there. You must have seen the situation in Bihar and UP how during floods people face so many troubles and that is why I want the government to show their concern and rush an NDRF team immediately today and the Jal Shakti Minister should immediately go there," Gogoi said.

Earlier today, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said that it had rescued 13 fishermen stranded on a small island in the Brahmaputra River due to the rise in water levels in the northern Dibrugarh region of Assam.

Personnel of the NDRF, SDRF and Inland Water Transport boats attempted to rescue the fishermen stranded on that island since Friday. However, the rescue efforts failed due to the rise in water levels and extreme currents in the Brahmaputra River, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

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Meanwhile, the flood situation in Kaziranga National Park has turned critical, with rising water submerged a total of 95 forest camps out of the 233 camps present in the park.

Earlier Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the flood situation in the state.

He said Assam is experiencing a second wave of floods this year due to heavy rains in parts of its upper districts and in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. Sarma further detailed the relief measures undertaken by the state government on the issue. PM Modi on his behalf assured Sarma that he would have full cooperation from the Centre in its hour of crisis.

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As of July 1, a total of 19 districts had been affected due to the floods, with the death toll rising to 35 as per data provided by Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

Thousands of people are sheltering in relief camps across the State. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted very heavy rainfall in Assam over the next few days.