Seven more casualties in the past 24 hours have pushed the Assam flood death toll to 75. However, the total number of affected people has dropped to 3.32 lakh, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The state government has increased the ex gratia amount to the families of the deceased from ₹4 lakh to ₹9 lakh and relaxed the norms for availing the compensation, officials said, according to a PTI report.
Death toll rises
Charaideo, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Kamrup Metropolitan are the districts still affected by the flooding, which is said to affect 21 revenue circles and 622 villages. Charaideo was the worst-hit, with 1.42 lakh people affected, and Sivasagar and Jorhat were closely behind, with 97.024 and 57,371 people affected, respectively.
All 7 fatalities reported on Tuesday were from the Narzia area in the Sivasagar district. A crop area of 45,341.98 hectares has been submerged. Several houses, schools, cow sheds and anganwadis have also been impacted.
However, there is an improvement in the situation from Monday, as six districts were being reported as affected. The floods have affected 4.45 lakh people, and 81 relief camps have been established, accommodating a total of 32,477 displaced people. The Army, Air Force, NDRF, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services and civil volunteers are carrying out relief and rescue operations.
Government extends aid
The Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) facility has been extended in the Sivasagar area to ensure uninterrupted mobile connectivity, officials said. They also added that the facility is available to all in-roamers in the district, enabling subscribers of all telecom providers to connect to the network.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a social media post on Wednesday that floods would not stand in the way of children’s education. “Creating a congenial atmosphere in relief camps remains our focus. Dedicated spaces for learning and playing are helping ensure that the impact of floods does not interrupt their childhood and they are not adversely affected due to the ongoing situation,” he noted.
He also announced in a Facebook Live on Tuesday evening the relaxation of the norms for the provision of ex gratia compensation to the next of kin or those killed or missing as a result of the floods.
Specifically, this is the removal of a mandate to provide a post-mortem report to avail of compensation, with a certificate from the circle officer deemed sufficient.
Families severely affected in the four worst-hit districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat will receive a government-provided interim amount of ₹15,000, which can be utilised for their household needs, the CM stated.
Students in the Sivasagar and Charadieo districts will be provided free uniforms and textbooks, along with a grant to purchase books for higher secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate students.
