Dhemaji remains cut-off for more than ten days

Leaders of Asom Gana Parishad visiting Dhemaji

Dhemaji will remain cut-off by road for at least over ten days, as, the Border Road Organisation (BRO), which is engaged to restore road link to the district, will need 10 to 15 days more to install a bailey bridge over Samarajan. Road link to a major part of the district is disrupted for the 14 th day today since August 13. Railway link to the district is also snapped since August 13.

Meanwhile, work to restore the rail link is going on and it will take a few more days to complete the work, said NF Railway sources here.According Dhemaji Deputy Commissioner Dr P Ashok Babu, the district administration has put up two temporary foot bridges at Samarajan on the NH-52 and at Butikur on the Dhemaji-Dhakuwakhana PWD Road for the benefit of the people.The floodwaters of the Samarajan and Jiadhol-Kumatia had breached the NH-52 at three places. One of the breaches located at Samarajan is around 100 metre in length and the other two on both ends of the Jiadhol-2 Bridge, are comparatively smaller in size. People can cross the Jiadhol breaches on foot now as the floodwater has started receding for the rainless condition during the past three days. The BRO people are now doing the earth work to fill up the Jiadhol-2 Bridge breaches.It needs mention here that the recent wave of floods affected around 1.6 lakh people of 252 villages in the district.

The floodwaters affected vast areas of Dhemaji sub-division and some parts of Jonai sub-division. However, there is no report of outbreak of any communicable disease from any part of the district so far, said the Deputy Commissioner.By this time, floodwaters have started receding gradually in Majuli river island and normalcy is expected to return to the island within the next seven to ten days, said SDO (Civil) of Majuli P Handique.The civil administration of the island held a meeting with the traders’ organisations of the island today with view to maintaining the price line and also the quality of the essential items.

The traders are asked to display the price lists of the essential commodities for the knowledge of the customers, said the SDO.A meeting of the Gaon Burhas is also convened tomorrow by the civil administration to make them aware of the need to maintain a live communication with the civil administration on issues like food poisoning, outbreak of communicable diseases etc. It needs mention here that some islanders fell ill recently after taking maah prasad at a religious function.

Courtesy:The Assam Tribune,27-08-09

Floods in Dhemaji,Lakhimpur

After a spate of dry spell in Assam ,three upper Assam districts Dhemaji,Lakhimpur and Sonitpur are hit by flash floods follwing heavy showers in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh and incessant rains in those districts.The flash floods has breached several embankments in the three districts in the rivers like Kakoi,Subansiri,Jiadhol,Kumotia.

At Dhemaji two persons were drowned including a three months child on 12 August in Bordoloni even the current of rivers washed away the two ends of a Bailey bridge.The damage in the bridge has cut off the district and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.In the meantime, the Ranganadi flood water has damaged a pier of the RCC Bridge over the river on the NH-5In Lakhimpur district, the Kakoi river has breached its right bank embankment at five places – two breaches at 5 km, one breach at 6 km and two breaches at 7km. The flood water of the river has also overtopped its right embankment between Lilabari TE and Kadom.

The Ronganadi has breached its left bank embankment at one place at 2nd km and the right bank embankment at three places – one each at 4.5 km, 6 km and 7km. The Singara has breached its dyke between Phulbari and Barsola – two breaches at 6km and one breach at 8 km. The Dorpang has breached its Rajgarh-Pichala embankment at 7km.It needs mention here that the Brahmajan had breached its left bank embankment at one place yesterday. With the rainfall during the past one week, the State has been able to overcome much of its deficit in rainfall. The deficit has come down to 18 per cent now. With the good rainfall activities during the past one week, the State has now recorded a total rainfall of 812.2mm, against the normal of 984.6 mm, since June 1. It needs mention here that meteorologists treat 19 per cent less or more rainfall as normal rainfall.

The State recorded 23 per cent deficit rainfall till August 8. It had received a total rainfall of 703.8 mm of rainfall till then against the normal of 920 mm, said sources in the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) here.The RMC sources also said that there is a likelihood of moderate rain or thundershower at many places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam-Mdghalaya, Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram meteorological sub-divisions of the NE region till the morning of August 162, weakening the bridge, near North Lakhimpur town, the district headquarters of Lakhimpur.
References-The Assam Tribune,15 August,2009