Assam flood toll rises to 7

Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam continued to deteriorate Saturday with one more person losing his life, taking the toll to seven, as over 15 lakh people were affected by the deluge across 25 districts of the state. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal called Union Home Minister Amit Shah and briefed him about the latest flood situation in the state.

Sonowal said 24x7 flood control rooms have been activated across the districts and that he is monitoring the situation personally. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person was killed at Sissibargaon in Dhemaji district.

With this, the total number of persons who lost their lives in flood-related incidents in the state this year has gone up to seven. At present, over 14.06 lakh persons have been affected by the floods.

Meanwhile, after drought-like situation till last week, Bihar now fears floods as the water levels of several rivers have been rising following heavy rains in the past six days. According to a state disaster department official here on Saturday, the rising water levels of Koshi, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Ganga and Bagmati rivers are causing panic among the people living near the banks. See P6