Morigaon (Assam) [India]: Hundreds of families in Assam’s Morigaon district have become homeless after the Brahmaputra River swallowed their homes and land.
The flood situation in the district has been improving now but the affected people’s hardships are still critical.
Many people have been living on roads, bridges, embankment and highlands for the last fortnight as their houses are still flooded.
Not only the flood, but the river erosion also hit many people in the district.
Bharati Rai, a mother of two children, told media that her family had their own house and land, but the Brahmaputra River swallowed them all a few years ago, and they have now been living on an embankment in a makeshift small hut.
“Our original house was in Katahguri village, but we lost everything due to river erosion. Now we are living in this embankment. We have a 4-member family and we have no land. We can’t go outside to search for some work due to the flood. We only get the ration card’s rice. We have now no option,” Bharati Rai said.
She further said that every family who is living in this embankment is facing similar problems.
Sita Thakur, another victim, said, “Our original house was in the Katahguri Char area, but the river swallowed everything.
“We are now living here and we can’t go anywhere else because we have no land. I now have a 3-member family and other family members have left for other places. Now the flood has also hit us. Nearly 30-35 families are now living here and earlier they had their own houses, but they also lost their houses due to river erosion. We are poor people and facing lots of problems, but we have no other option,” Sita Thakur said.
On the other hand, many villagers in the Gagalmari area of the district have been taking shelter on the road and embankment as the village is still flooded.
Rasidul, a resident of Gagalmari village, told media that the flood waters are now receding but the villagers are still facing problems.
“The connecting road to this village is still flooded. Many houses in this village are still flooded and many people are living on embankments. There are many problems here due to the flood,” Rasidul said.
According to the reports of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), this year’s flood has claimed 96 lives and 5.11 lakh people in 17 districts are still affected.
The flood waters submerged 21236.46 hectares of crop area and affected 1132 villages.
Earlier on Monday, a team of the AICC and the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) visited the flood-hit Morigaon district of Assam to meet flood victims.