Tripura Flood: 17 Lakh Affected. 20 Death. 65,400 People In Shalter Houses

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Agartala
• Aug 23, 2024
• 581

Around 17 lakh people of the state have been affected in various ways due to the disaster caused by incessant rains. So far 450 relief camps have been opened at different places and around 65 thousand 400 people have taken shelter in them. This information was shared by Revenue Secretary Brijesh Pandey at a press conference at the Secretariat on the flood situation in the state today. 

He also added that the central government has sent two helicopters on the request of the state government to rescue the affected citizens trapped in Gomti and South Tripura districts. Besides carrying out rescue operations in that helicopter, food items are being distributed.

On this day, he said, the water level of the rivers is increasing significantly due to continuous heavy rains in the state for the last 4 days. Gomati , South District, Unakoti and West Districts are particularly affected. Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha reviewed the emerging situation with the Chief Secretary and other Secretaries at the Secretariat this afternoon. 

In the review meeting, the Chief Minister directed the officials to speed up the relief and rescue operations. In the last 24 hours, the state received 493.6 mm of rain in Bakafa in South district, 293.4 mm in Sonamura in Sipahijla district, 233 mm in Agartala in West district and 155 mm in Udaipur in Gomti district. 

The water levels of rivers in Dhalai, Khowai, Dakshin, West District, North Tripura and Unkoti districts of the state are flowing above the danger level.

The revenue secretary said that about 17 lakh people of the state have been affected in various ways by this disaster. So far 450 relief camps have been opened in different parts of the state and around 65 thousand 400 people have taken shelter in them. Various relief items such as food packets, drinking water and medicines are being provided to the camps on an urgent basis by the district administration. Officers and workers of rural development, water resources, electricity, defense, paramilitary forces, fire brigade etc. departments are engaged in rescue and relief work for flood affected people for the last 4 days. 

The revenue secretary said that regular high-level monitoring is being done on this unprecedented disaster situation. Various departments of the state administration are working in coordination with various central agencies. The Union Home Ministry, National Disaster Management Authority, Air Force and NDRFO are assisting the state government in dealing with the disaster. The revenue secretary said that preliminary information has so far revealed that there has been extensive damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops along with houses and livestock. So far, the latest information has revealed that 844 power poles have collapsed, 151 transformers, 310 km of conductors and 2 sub-stations have been completely damaged.

He said that landslides have occurred in 2,32 places in the state, out of which 1,789 places have been cleared and the remaining places are in full swing. Roads have collapsed at 1,952 places, of which 579 places have been restored so far. A total of 153 dredgers have been deployed across the state to clear debris. About 200 engineers of the Department of Public Works are working day and night to deal with the situation. He said that bus services have been suspended from Chandrapur, Nagerjla and Radhanagar. All rail services from Agartala have also been suspended. He said that 8 districts of the state have suffered huge damage to kharif crops due to floods. Preliminary estimates are that around 5,000 hectares of vegetable fields and 1,20,000 hectares of paddy fields are still under water.

The Revenue Secretary said that all schools in the state have been closed indefinitely due to the prevailing situation. Telecommunication system has been severely disrupted in Gomti, South Tripura and other flood affected areas. Initiatives have also been taken to speed up the telecommunication system in all those places. The Revenue Secretary said that 26 SDRF teams, 4 NDRF teams are engaged in rescue and relief work across the state. Also 4 additional NDRF teams from Arunachal Pradesh have landed in Agartala, who are already deployed in Gomati district, West Tripura, Sipahijala district. Also 4 NDRF teams are already deployed in South Tripura, West Tripura, Unkoti and Khowai districts. Besides, more than 2 thousand volunteers of Civil Defense and Apadamitra are engaged in relief and rescue work.

The Revenue Secretary said that the central government has sent two helicopters on the request of the state government to rescue the affected citizens trapped in Gomati and South Tripura districts by helicopter. Also food items are being distributed to 4 places in Amarpur Rangamati, Bampur, Bankuria, Malbasa through helicopter. The Revenue Secretary said that Special Secretary of Education Department Ravel Hemendra Kumar has been given the responsibility as the Special District Administrator of Gomti district to speed up the relief and rescue work in Gomti district. Also, 5 TCS officers have been appointed under the Food Department to look after the distribution of relief items. He said that the state government has started the rescue and relief work of the flood-affected people on priority basis. The general public has been requested not to panic but to remain calm and cooperate with the state and district administrations.

Meteorologist at the press conference. Partha Roy said, as per the Indian Meteorological Department's forecast, many parts of the state are likely to receive heavy rainfall today and tomorrow. A 'Red Alert' has been issued across the state today and tomorrow in 4 districts of South Tripura, Sipahijala, Gomti and Dhalai. Abhishek Singh, Secretary of the Department of Urban Development, said in a press conference that 65 camps have been opened for the safe shelter of flood victims in different urban areas of the state. 28 thousand 994 people of 7 thousand 232 families have taken shelter in these camps. All kinds of facilities including food, drinking water, medicines are being provided there. Also, 3 helpline numbers have been launched to help flood victims in urban areas. These numbers are 8129901176 / 9863201665 (WhatsApp also Available) / 8118982040 (WhatsApp also Available)

 The press conference was also attended by Health Department Secretary Kiran Githe and Disaster Management State Project Officer Sarat Kumar Das