Assam flood: Over 16 lakh people of 22 districts affected, death toll mounts to 34

Guwahati, July 3: The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim as the floodwaters inundated new areas in few lower Assam districts.

Nearly 16.03 lakh people of 22 districts have been affected in the current wave of flood.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), nearly 8.60 lakh are affected alone in Barpeta district while 1.95 lakh people affected in South Salmara, 95,000 people in Goalpara,85,700 people in Nalbari, 62,500 people in Morigaon, 55,000 people in Darrang, 47,800 people in Dhemaji, 41,500 people in Dhubri district.

On Thursday, one person drowned in floodwaters at Matia area in Goalpara district and with this case total death toll in the state has now mounted to 34.

The floodwaters have submerged 72,717 hectares of croplands and affected 2053 villages under 60 revenue circles in the flood-hit districts.

A total of 12,597 people have taken shelter at 163 relief camps and many others still taking shelter on roads, embankments and other safer places.

The second wave of flood has affected over 13 lakh domestic animals also.

The SDRF teams and administration had rescued 2852 flood-affected people in Barpeta, Dhubri, South Salmara and Chirang district in last 24 hours.

On the other hand, the water level of many rivers is receding, but the water level of Brahmaputra river, Dhansiri river, Jia Bharali river and Kopili river is flowing above danger level in many other places in the state.

More than 50 per cent areas of Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary are still underwater and the current flood forced many animals to move safer places nearby Karbi hills areas.

Assam CM Sonowal stops his carcade and talks to on-duty police personnel on Guwahati road

Guwahati, July 1: In a bid to lift the morale of the police personnel engaged in traffic and law and order duty amid COVID-19 induced lockdown in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday evening stopped his carcade and talked to the on-duty police personnel at Zoo Road tri-junction in the capital city of Assam.

While talking to the police personnel, the Assam Chief Minister expressed his gratitude and hailed the personnel for their sense of duty.

He lauded them for discharging their duties diligently even in the times of extra-ordinary health situation in the state.

Sonowal thanked all rank and file of the police personnel and took note of their duty which is primarily responsible for instilling a sense of security among the people in general.

Sonowal thanking the police personnel, urged upon everybody to adhere to all lockdown protocols to beat the spread of novel Coronavirus.

“Though the people of Guwahati showing their resolve to stop the spread of positive cases, responded well and remained themselves in their home, the same sense of commitment should be continued throughout the lockdown period,” Sonowal said.

The Assam Chief Minister also appealed to the people to comply with the guidelines prescribed by the state Health department against COVID-19.

On the occasion of Doctors’ Day today, the Assam Chief Minister extended his heartfelt greetings to the doctors’ fraternity.

He also expressed his gratitude to the doctors’ community for being the front line warriors in the fight against novel Coronavirus.

Sonowal had his share of gratitude for the NDRF, SDRF personnel and other frontline workers who have been lending their hands to reach out to the people in 28 districts of the state which are experiencing the second wave of flood currently in the state.

He thanked them for reaching out to the affected people and giving them relief and respite.

Guwahati AIR news broadcaster completes non-stop 100 days news bulletin reading

Guwahati, July 1: During the COVID-19 pandemic situation, a newsreader of All India Radio (AIR) in Guwahati station has created unique and ever in the history in All India Radio and any broadcasting organizations in the world, by completing non-stop 100 days of his duty hours without any break or off from his duty who attended for his morning as well as evening duty period in reading special extended Assamese (local language from RNU – Guwahati) news bulletin both morning and evening.

Priyabrat Hazarika – a new reader of All India Radio in Guwahati station shown great responsibility to his work, which had pulled a lot of applauds from listeners across the state even at this hour of perennial flood and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pritabrat Hazarika is continuously reading new bulletin at Guwahati AIR station since March 24, when the people of Assam followed the Janata Curfew along with the rest of the country following Prime Minister’s initiative to fight COVID-19.

It may be mentioned that radio bulletin both from the national and state plays a pivotal role for over 50 per cent of the state’s population where maximum listens to AIR, and also during flood-prone areas where masses do not reach with TV or other means of print media, but it to be well proved how voice from a particular newsreader who had rendered immense experiences at the national capital to share his experiences in recent past.

Priyabrat Hazarika – a noted social activist in the field of building the society working for child rights, wildlife and caring elders across the state.

RMRC Dibrugarh successfully isolates strain of COVID-19 virus is same across the world: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati, July 1: After NIV (ICMR Lab), Pune and CCMB (CSIR Lab), Hyderabad, the Reginal Medical Research Centre for NE Region (ISMR-RMRC), Lahowal in Assam’s Dibrugarh district has been successful in isolating the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus.

Assam Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the RMRC, Lahowal has been able to separate the strain of COVID-19 virus and according to the RMRC, Lahowal the strain across the world is same.

“The COVID-19 virus which is just over six-months-old has spread across all human communities and scientists now have detected over 10 different clades or strains circulating the world. Originally only two types of the virus were noted, the L-type and the S-type but the S-type is slowly disappearing. The scientists of RMRC Dibrugarh in April this year also developed an in-house test (TSP-PCR) to detect the L or S type of the virus within 3 hours. It was found that all strains circulating in Assam were L-type,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Assam minister further said that, now scientists have classified the virus into different clades (O, A1, A2a, A3, B, B1, and so on) which differ from one another very minutely.

“The A2a clade is now the most dominant clade across the world including India. Infact world over, the SARS-CoV-2 virus strains circulating differs by less than 0.3 per cent,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Assam minister further said that this is important for the development of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine where virus grown in laboratory are inactivated by heat or chemical and purified for use as vaccines after pre-clinical and clinical trials. The RMRC has isolated the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) in VERO-CCL81 cell line in the BSL-3 level laboratory.

According to the RMRC, Lahowal, the strain variations till now in different geographical regions of the world should not pose a problem for vaccine development.

On the other hand, the Assam government has decided to set up a plasma bank in Guwahati in the next 4-5 days and will start plasma therapy.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state Health Department has already installed plasma separator equipments at Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

“We hope that, within a week we will start plasma therapy in Guwahati. Our training programme for it is going on. We will collect plasma from the cured COVID-19 patients,” the Assam Health minister said.

Assam has so far reported 8547 COVID-19 positive cases.

After COVID-19 lockdown, now flood hits Assam farmers, forces thousands of people to live on roads

Guwahati, July 1:After COVID-19 lockdown, now flood hits Assam farmers, forces thousands of people to live on roads.

56-year-old Idris Ali, a farmer, with his family is now being forced to live on roads after the floodwaters entered their home.

Idris Ali – a farmer of Kuchiani village under Mayong revenue circle area in Assam’s Morigaon district and his family have already spent six nights on road under a makeshift tent.

Idris’s family was forced to move to Guwahati-Morigaon connecting road with some food and household goods after the second wave of floodwaters entered their home.

His family hit by flood second time within a month.

The first flood came in May last had completely submerged their paddy fields.

Idris Ali said that his family is now facing a food crisis.

“We are facing lot of problems due to flood. We had lost something in an earlier flood, but this flood hit us more. The people are now facing a food crisis. Many people are now become homeless after floodwaters washed away their homes. We are now living on the roads. Where we will go? We have no option,” Idris Ali said.

He further said that he had faced a loss of around Rs 80,000 during COVID-19 lockdown period after not able to find a market to sale his produces agricultural products.

“After lockdown, now flood hit us severely. Who will realize our present conditions? What we will do? We will die,” Idris Ali said.

The current wave of flood has affected nearly 99,000 people in Morigaon district.

A total of 209 villages in Maorigaon district including 119 villages under Mayong revenue circle area are affected in the flood and the floodwaters submerged 10,771 hectares in the central Assam district.

Md Anarul Hussain – a farmer of West Mayong area said that the floodwaters washed away his hard work after his 5-acre paddy field was completely submerged by floodwaters.

“We have now no other option. We have no food, entire paddy crops are now underwater,” Md Anarul Islam said.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 85,000 people have been affected in the areas under Mayong revenue circle and most of the people are farmers and living Below Poverty Line (BPL)

Many flood-affected people in the district are now living on roads without a future.

A resident of Mayong area Sibananda Nath said that more than 100 villages in Mayong area are badly affected in the flood.

“The people have been affected the second time by flood with a month. Thousands acre agricultural lands, paddy field are now underwater. People are facing many problems,” Sivananda Nath said.

According to the ASDMA reports, over 75,700 hectares of croplands have been affected by the second wave of flood across the state.

On the other hand, one person on Wednesday drowned in floodwaters in Dhubri district.

28 people died due to flood in the state this year so far.