Central team to undertake 3-day tour to assess flood, landslide damage in Assam

GUWAHATI:

An inter-ministerial central delegation will undertake a three-day tour of four flood-affected districts in Assam from November 23 to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the deluge and landslides during the current year.

The high-level delegation will be led by Sandeep Poundrik, additional secretary (mitigation), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

According to the delegation’s travel plan, one team will visit Goalpara and Bongaigaon districts while another will tour Nagaon and Hojai districts during the three days.

Between May-October 2020, as many as 57.89 lakh people in 30 districts of the state have been affected by floods claiming 123 lives, with an additional 26 deaths caused by landslides during the period.

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Sources said the decision to undertake the spot assessment comes in the wake of submission of the final report by the Assam government on such damages.

According to reports, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials will also make a video presentation before the central delegation on the infrastructure damage across the state.

Based on the report submitted by the team, the central government would decide on the need to sanction additional financial aid to Assam either under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) or the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).