The overall flood situation in Assam has turned from bad to the worse. The water level of Brahmaputra and its tributaries continue to rise, submerging houses, farmlands and wildlife sanctuaries. It has not only affected human beings but also  the wildlife as well.

Over 80% of the rhino habitat of Kaziranga National Park is flooded .  The rising water level caused large scale migration of hog deer across National Highway-37 to the highlands of Karbi Anglong hills. Few rhinos have also moved there and they are being constantly monitored by the wildlife staff.

Just a couple ofdays ago, a newspaper reported that  three hog deer got drowned. On the other hand 34 hog deer were rescued earlier this week. Another four died after being hit by vehicles as they were crossing NH-37.

Another report says that a  rhino calf and a juvenile fishing cat were also rescued. As Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, the densest habitat of one-horned rhinos in Morigaon district is completely under flood water, Assam forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma rushed there to take stock of the situation.

The minister directed forest officials to take additional measures for protection of wild animals, particularly  those that came out due to the flood.

Around 16 lakh people at 19 districts of Assam are affected by flood. The local newspapers report one or two deaths by flood waters almost daily.

The Brahmaputra and its tributaries caused major damages in Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Barpeta and Dhubri districts, while roads and bridges have been washed away in Kamrup, Nalbari, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Darrang, Tinsukia, Golaghat, Chirang, Dibrugarh and Kokrajhar districts.

Dhubri remained the worst affected district with over 2.52 lakh people suffering under floods. The authorities have set up 52 relief camps in the district. Other districts where large number of people have been affected included Jorhat (1.88 lakh), Dhemaji (1.85 lakh), Golaghat (1.19 lakh), Bongaigaon (1.15 lakh), Goalpara (88,000), Biswanath (78,000), Dibrugarh (75,000) and Darrang (73,000).

The authorities are still assessing the total loss due to the flood.

(Prepared by Seema Kumari from media sources)

  animals, Assam, Barpeta, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, flood, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tinsukia, wildlife