Assam flood situation improves even as toll rises to 68 with two more deaths

GUWAHATI — The death toll in this year's floods in Assam climbed to 68 with two more fatalities, while over 5.24 lakh people remained affected across five districts despite an overall improvement in the situation, officials said on Monday.

The two deaths were reported on Sunday from Charaideo district, which also remained the worst-affected with nearly 1.9 lakh people reeling under water, they said.

Among the other affected districts were Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon and Sivasagar, officials said.

Altogether 354 relief camps and aid distribution centres were operating in four districts, taking care of 37,724 displaced people, they said.

Multiple agencies, including the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Service and the police, were engaged in the rescue and relief operations, they added.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure suffered damage in various districts of the state.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that power restoration work was on in a phased manner.

"As Assam steadily recovers from the floods, power restoration efforts continue across affected districts," Sarma said in a social media post on Sunday.

He said following the precautionary suspension of electricity supply during the floods, Power Department teams have been carrying out comprehensive safety inspections while restoring power in a phased manner across Sivasagar, Jorhat, Charaideo, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and other affected areas.

"We remain committed to restoring essential services at the earliest and ensuring every affected community returns to normalcy," he added.