Northeast flood situation grim, Army help sought  

The flood situation in the Northeast continued to be grim on Thursday with at least nine people losing their lives and thousands displaced in Assam, Manipur and Tripura, where the state governments have sought Armys help in rescue operations.

Two people lost their lives in landslide in a remote location in Assam's Dima Hasao district and one person died in Golaghat due to floods even as a total of 1,66,836 people are marooned in seven districts of the state.

This is the first wave of flood to hit the state this year and according to Disaster Management Department officials, 370 villages were submerged by floods since Wednesday evening. The districts of Hojai, Cachar, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Karimganj, East and West Karbi Anglong have been affected.

Three major rivers are flowing above danger mark at different places, officials said.

While Dhansiri river is flowing over danger level at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Barak river is flowing above Cachar followed by Badarpurghat at Karimganj, and at Matizuri in Hailakandi. Kushiyara river is flowing above danger level at Karimganj district, the officials said.

The state government has pressed National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force teams into service in the affected areas for search and rescue operation. NDRF sources said that 422 persons have been rescued in from Karimganj, Hailakandi, Cacahar and Golaghat as on Thursday.

Over 36,000 people are living in 115 relief camps in the flood-affected districts. Train traffic has been affected following landslides triggered by incessant rains for past few days.

Northeast Frontier Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer PJ Sharma said at least four trains have been suspended due to the landslides, which have occurred in at least five locations in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday sought the Army's assistance in rescue operations in the flood-hit state as incessant rains continued for the third day leading to floods and landslides—forcing some 50,000 people to take shelter in relief camps and claiming four lives.

Deb informed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a telephonic conversation on Thursday morning of the situation and apprised him of the steps taken by the state government.

He also requested the Home Minister to "urgently" increase the number of National Disaster Response Force personnel in the state. An official statement said the Centre has assured all the necessary support to Tripura to deal with the flood situation, while asking Army Chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat, to take necessary action.

Meanwhile, an official of the Tripura Disaster Management Control Centre said that around 50,000 people of over 10,000 families took shelter in around 200 relief camps in different parts of the state mostly in northern Tripura.

"At least four people, including two aged men and a teenager, died across Tripura since Tuesday due to landslides, falling trees or fishing in flooded rivers," the official said.

"We have kept ready a Pawan Hans helicopter and sent requisition to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to provide two more copters to rescue marooned people and to provide relief to the affected families if necessary."

He said that IAF helicopters on Wednesday and Thursday could not fly from Silchar in southern Assam due to bad weather. The Disaster Management official said that the situation in northern Tripura's Unokoti district deteriorated after three old embankments of the Manu River were breached.

Waters of many rivers of Tripura are flowing over the danger levels. Flood waters inundated many villages, homes, paddy fields highways besides low-lying areas.

Landslides have occurred in many highways affecting movement of traffic.

In Manipur, two persons including a 7-year-old boy drowned in Thoubal district.

Four members of a family in Chajing in Imphal west district were trapped in the second floor of their submerged house. The government has requested the Army to rescue them.

Chief Minister N.Biren Singh supervised the repairing works of the breached banks of the Imphal river on Wednesday, said officials, adding that he left only when the breached bank was repaired.

Several houses and paddy fields in Thoubal district have been inundated from Thursday morning. Flood waters are running across the state and national highways. Officials said that more areas in the Imphal east and west districts had been inundated.

The NH-37 linking Manipur with Assam was severely damaged near Sinam village in Noney district. Due to landslide and massive depressions along this highway triggered by the rains the vehicles cannot ply. Most of the drivers had turned back to come along the NH-2 that passes through Nagaland.