The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that six teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been deployed for rescue work in the flood affected areas of Tinsukia, Lakhmipur, Kokrajhar and Kamrup and one Battalion of NDRF is stationed in the capital city of Guwahati to move into action as and when required without wasting any time. He was addressing the media about the Government of India’s prompt response to the flood situation in Assam at a press briefing, here today.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, following heavy rains since August 17, river Brahmaputra particularly and also other rivers including Jia Bharali, Putimari, Beki and Manas began to flow above normal level. About 17 districts of Assam State were affected, he said, of which Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Dhubri, Sonitpur, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia have been most affected but the damage has been limited due to immediate response time by the various agencies, including NDRF, he added. Dr. Jitendra Singh informed, so far over 600 people have been evacuated from flood affected areas and relief material has been distributed. In addition, medical teams of doctors and paramedical are in the process of being moved to the flood affected areas and a plan is being worked out to preempt the onset or spread of disease epidemic in the aftermath of floods, he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh disclosed that the State Government of Assam has been asked to furnish a detailed report of the damages in the form of a memorandum and once this is received, the Central Government will accordingly plan out further help and assistance. He thanked the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Disaster Management agencies for their full cooperation and sought to reassure the people of Assam that the water level in most districts has begun to recede since yesterday which is a matter of relief and also a reason to believe that the worst is over.