GUWAHATI: The toll in Assam floods has increased to 80 with two more fatalities, while eight districts and 2.12 lakh people remained affected, officials said on Friday.
The state government has announced a six-month moratorium on repaying all types of loans availed by flood-affected people, while also demanding a support package from the Centre for the relief and rehabilitation of people ravaged by an unprecedented deluge.
The officials said that both the latest deaths were reported from Sivasagar district. With these, the toll in this year’s deluge has mounted to 80.
A total of 21 revenue circles and 437 villages in eight districts of Golaghat, Sivasagar, Biswanath, Charaideo, Kamrup (Metropolitan), Jorhat, Dhemaji and Nagaon continued to be affected by the floods.
The number of impacted people was at 2,12,400, with Charaideo being the worst-hit with nearly 80,000 people affected, followed by Sivasagar (71,000) and Jorhat (40,000).
The flood situation has improved since Wednesday, when seven districts and more than three lakh people were affected.
The administration was operating 112 relief camps and relief distribution centres in four districts, taking care of 75,583 affected people at present.
Multiple agencies such as the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Service, police and civil agencies are engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Crop area of 17,198.09 hectares has been submerged across Assam, while embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have also been damaged by flood waters.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a special meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), attended by representatives from the RBI, NABARD, SBI and all other commercial banks, decided on a relief scheme for the customers who availed loans in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.
“The SLBC decided that a moratorium of six months will be offered to all flood-affected people in these districts,” he added.
Sarma further said that the tenure of loans availed by all flood-affected people can be extended from one year up to seven years in all banks, depending on the type of debt.
He also said the state government placed its demand for a support package before the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which concluded its four-day tour of flood-devastated districts in Upper Assam on Wednesday.
Sarma said the state government also demanded recognition of the Upper Assam floods as an “atypical, high-intensity, rapid-onset event” with flexible norms for damage assessment and assistance.
