Eastern Assam where the state rescue force personnel saved the fishermen.
GUWAHATI: On Sunday, June 30, an air ambulance had to be used in order to rescue a team of rescuers who were stranded on sandbar or river island in northeastern Assam after their rescue boat capsized while they were saving flood-hit people.
Officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said nine State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Fire and Emergency Services personnel were stranded on a near-submerged sandbar in the Siang River during a rescue operation in Dhemaji district’s Siboguri area. Their rescue boat capsized during the operation.
“Rescue team OIC has told us that other SDRF teams will not be able to reach there due to water wave and current,” Himangshu Baruah, divisional officer (technical) of the State’s Fire and Emergency Services wrote on an SMS message sent to him by ASDMA on June 30th.
They were flown out by IAF choppers from eastern Assam for three days.
He requested that trapped members of his rescue team be taken out by helicopter from one of them located at Siang River, one of three that converge to form the Brahmaputra a few kilometres downstream.
On June 30, she said Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, CEO contacted officials at Centre for deployment permission for an IAF chopper to extract these trapped men. “The cost of this air operation will be borne by ASDMA”, she added.
Another IAF helicopter was employed early Tuesday morning to airlift 13 fishermen from Hatia Ali (sandbar) in Dibrugarh district following Bikram Kairi request as District Commissioner.
“The fishermen have been marooned since June 28 right at middle Brahmaputra. Boats could not operate due to extremely high current level of the river; this includes boats of SDRF, National Disaster Response Force, and Inland Water Transport,” Mr. Kairi said.
The water level in the Brahmaputra has been between 105.06 metres to 105.8 metres for the last five days. The danger line in Dhemaji district is at 105.70 metres,” he added.
Until July1st, a total of 35 human lives were lost in two intermittent floods since May as revealed in ASDMA data. The second wave started on June 16.
“There have been more than 6.44 lakhs affected by floods across19 districts with Lakhimpur and Dhemaji being among the two worst hit ones. At present, 72 relief camps are providing shelter to about 8142 people” stated spokesperson from ASDMA.
Seven rivers including Subansiri, Jia- Bharali, Beki, Kushiyara were flowing above danger level till Monday night apart from Brahmaputra.
There are five feet of water at ninety-five out of two hundred thirty-three anti-poaching camps in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Although Karbi Anglong district lies across National Highway 715 it is not high enough to drive fauna into higher grounds.
“Nevertheless Nagaon and Golaghat District Administrators have imposed speed restriction near nine animal corridors on this highway where vehicles are expected to maintain speeds ranging from 20km/hr to 40 km/hr so that animals crossing over don’t get knocked down.” one official noted.
