Assam floods: Residents of Nalbari awaits help from government

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Nalbari (Assam): Residents of Nalbari district still await for help as floods have ravished the North-eastern state. Due to floods, houses of many have been destroyed and the floodwaters have entered the schools bringing the lives of the people to a standstill. The problem of clean drinking water is one of the biggest.

One of the locals at the relief camp said: "Children at the camp have been falling sick after the floods. We don't have any doctor here."

"People have no food to eat and no place to live. In spite of this, there is no support from the government yet," he said.

Another local said: "We've been facing a lot of problems after the floods. Our houses, as well as farms, are destroyed. We now live on the streets."

"Apart from this, we do not have anything to eat. Sometimes we make rice or sometimes just drink water and sleep," he added.

Even today, hundreds of villages in the district are submerged due to the floods that have hit the whole North-eastern state.

Heavy rains for several days lashed out the city resulting in a flood-like situation in the region. Water burst into several parts of the district on Sunday.

"All the rivers in the districts are overflowing and water has pooled in several parts of the district. The administration should make proper arrangements for the public's safety," said a local.

According to ANI report, several traders have lost their stock to the water and locals are demanding proper arrangements fro the administration.

"Water burst into the storage room. I lost garlic worth over Rs 6 lakh and onion worth Rs 50 thousand," a local trader Rahees Khan told ANI.

Several 'kutcha' houses were also damaged in Mandsaur earlier this week due to rains.

The airport cargo complex area of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Sahar was left flooded after Friday's downpour, even as water started seeping through the T2 ceiling.

According to sources within the airport, "A few flights were diverted, leading to some chaos at the vertical terminal building - where passengers line up to board. When water started seeping in, housekeeping staff tired to mop it, finally putting buckets under false ceilings."

Roshan Khetal, a local political worker, who stays close to the airport, said, "The housekeeping staff at the airport said the situation continued into Saturday morning, but the problem was at the cargo section." Khetal says that on Friday, due to the rains, the cargo area was in knee-deep water, especially around the truck parking area, which is a low lying area, gets flooded easily.

The helpers, said Khetal, had a tough time lifting the cargo from the ground to place them at higher rakes in order to avoid damage. "The Sahar nullah which is close to the cargo complex and connects to Mithi river was also overflowing," he added. Nicolas Almeida, a former corporator and resident of Sahar, said, "The need of the hour is to have a corrective plan put in place to curtail the flooding problem."

An MIAL spoke person said in an official statement, "Due to the inclement weather conditions and the extreme heavy downpour of rain in Mumbai on July 26, 2019, though delayed there were continuous operations at the Mumbai International Airport. A few flights were diverted. With non-stop rain, we did observe waterlogging at the landside area. The situation was immediately addressed by MIAL's on-duty staff and they were relentlessly on the ground to curb the situation so that the passengers could commute hassle-free. Within a few minutes, the issue was addressed and subsequently, the water level was brought down with de-watering pumps."

With inputs from ANI

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