Trouble For Assam Flood Victims Deepen As They Return Home Amid Fears Of Encephalitis Outbreak
After nearly two weeks the floods waters have slowly started receding across Assam. More than 55 lakhs people have been hit by the disaster. On Saturday alone 12 deaths were reported from across the state taking the death toll so far to 60.
After nearly two weeks, the floods waters have slowly started receding across Assam, bringing much need relief to the more than 55 lakhs people, who have been hit by the disaster.
Since Saturday, the situation has reportedly improved in 24 flood affected districts ¨C Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang, Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Cachar, and Karimga.
AP
On Saturday alone 12 deaths were reported from across the state, taking the death toll so far to 60.
#Monsoon2019 : Flood Rescue and Evacuation Operations by @NDRFHQ
¡ª PIB India (@PIB_India) July 18, 2019
?? 5830 people in #Assam and 4400 people in #Bihar have been evacuated by the rescue teams.
Details here: https://t.co/wljmU8xk10 pic.twitter.com/2S8nUQS0yK
With the rains slowing down and waters receding, many have started returning to their homes, which have been damaged due to the floodwaters.
AP
Over 1.5 lakh people who lost their life savings and have no place to go back are still sheltered in 689 relief camps and 240 relief distribution centres set up by the district administrations.
Many of the flood-affected complained to the state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma that they have not been provided with adequate relief items or accommodation in the relief centres.
Even though the water has started receding, many rivers including the Brahmaputra are still flowing over the danger mark.
It is not just the overflowing rivers that are making the rehabilitation of the floods victims difficult. They are returning home amid fear of an outbreak of contagious diseases.
AP
Assam was already battling an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis which has claimed around 90 lives even before the floods.
The fear is that the stagnant waters could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes which spread Japanese Encephalitis.
This is especially critical in relief camps which are housing hundreds of people including children. Any outbreak in such camps could be catastrophic.
AP
Earlier this month, the Assam Government had cancelled all the leaves of doctors and other medical staff until September to combat the outbreak of encephalitis.
The state has a history of Japanese Encephalitis outbreak for the past few years, which worsens after the floods due to the breeding of the mosquitos.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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