27 killed, 900,000 displaced in floods

A one-horned rhino takes shelter inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in the flood-affected Morigaon district of Assam yesterday. The animals are facing a shortage of food as flood waters have submerged the sanctuary.

At least 27 people have died and 900,000 have been forced to leave their homes as monsoon rains swamp wide areas of the northeastern state of Assam, officials said yesterday.
A state government spokesman said 21 of Assam’s 27 districts were hit by flash floods which began last weekend as the rains lashed the tea and oil-rich state.
“So far, 27 people have died in separate incidents including five who were killed when their boat sank,” Assam Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka said in Guwahati, the state’s largest city.
He also said the Brahmaputra river was overflowing its banks in many places.
Deka said an estimated 900,000 people had been displaced from their homes due to the flooding.
“Most of the displaced people have been forced to take shelter on raised platforms and in tarpaulin tents,” Deka added.
“All major rivers are running menacingly high with breaches reported in many places,” added Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as rescuers set up 1,500 temporary shelters for people stranded.
Four trains have been stuck at three places in Assam’s Dima Hasao district since Tuesday.
According to railway and state government officials, train services and road links between Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, parts of Meghalaya as also southern Assam and the rest of India have remained cut off since Tuesday.
With the suspension of train services, the supply of essential commodities and food grain has been severely hit in the region, sending prices soaring.
The situation has been aggravated following huge mudslides in many places on the highways connecting Assam to Agartala and other national highways.
In faraway Mumbai, heavy rains disrupted rail and road traffic causing inconvenience to commuters.
Trains were running late by 15-30 minutes, officials said. Most arterial roads of India’s financial city were flooded, making it difficult for vehicles and pedestrians to commute.
Making a late entry against the predicted date of June 10, rains yesterday left many areas of northwest Mumbai like Khar, Jogeshwari, Bandra, Goregaon and Malad waterlogged.
The weather department has said there would be heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours. Mumbai has been facing a severe water crisis after the monsoon skipped its regular date.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had warned that the city with a population of nearly 18mn would face severe water shortages for the rest of the year if the monsoon fails.
However, Delhi will continue to reel under the searing heat for at least another week as the monsoon will be missing its annual scheduled date of reaching the capital - June 29, the weather office said.