Devastating Floods - That Unite Assam–Meghalaya with Northern Bangladesh

As the devastating flood embraces vast areas of Assam (in northeast India) and Bangladesh, the mighty Brahmaputra comes to the focus again as the lone male river after originating in Tibet that flows through both the countries before culminating in the Bay of Bengal. Incessant rains for many days in the third week of June 2022 had inflated all the tributaries of Brahmaputra and it ended up inundating over one million hectares of land affecting millions of people in both the South Asian developing countries. Nava Thakuria apprises us about some developments in this regard.

- Nava Thakuria

The monsoon rains in the entire region usually start by the end of May, but this time heavy downpours affected the vast cultivable land by June itself where at least 5 million people (one million children) in northeast India and over 6 million (1.50 million children) in its lower riparian areas of northern Bangladesh got severely affected. According to the government agencies, nearly 2.5 million people in Assam were rendered homeless where over 3 million Bangladeshi people take shelter in makeshift camps. About 125 people have lost their lives due to the flood and landslides in the hilly areas of Assam and its neighbouring State of Meghalaya. Bangladesh witnessed the death of over 50 people in the flood-related incidents. Remote villagers in both the countries are struggling to survive with the crisis of adequate food items, drinking water and medicines for the elderly and children. The government armed forces in both the countries have been engaged to rescue the stranded families and also supply essential commodities to the affected villages.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over 3000 revenue villages got submerged by the flood water. It also affects over a hundred thousand hectares of crops as well as washes away a large number of domestic animals. The world-famous abode of precious one-horned rhinoceros, Kaziranga National Park also witnesses flooding in its northern part on the bank of Brahmaputra. In Bangladesh, over one million hectares of farmland are under water. Even the civil air services in Sylhet region faced repeated disruptions for many days.