Villagers along with their cattle wade through a Banana raft from the flood affected village of Murkata in Morigaon district, Assam, on July 22, 2016. PTI photo

Guwahati, July 22

Floods on Friday engulfed more districts in Assam amid heavy deluge and pouring waters of overflowing rivers in the state affecting three lakh people, as the Army swung into action in Chirang district for rescue works.

Deluge spread to nine districts on Friday from Thursday’s seven, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Bongaigain are the districts most affected.

Floodwaters have affected three lakh people in 464 villages.

Overflowing water of the swollen Brahmaputra and its tributaries has overrun roads in many areas snapping surface communication, breached embankments and caused large scale erosion in many areas, ASDMA said, adding the deluge has also submerged over 25,000 hectares of agricultural land damaging standing paddy crops there.

Based on a call for help from the local people, the Army sent its four teams in the Khungring area of Chirang on Friday, rescuing 30 people who were trapped in their marooned village, a Defence spokesman said here.

The Army deployed its boats to reach the marooned people and rescued them making several trips against swift currents to save them and took them to relief camps, he said.

The spokesman said the Army is dedicated towards the safety of the people and despite all odds, is standing by to save people amid concerns of rising water levels in Assam.

The Army Flood Control Centre at Tezpur is also functioning round the clock to monitor the flood situation and coordinate relief and rescue efforts wherever required.

All units under the Area of Responsibility of the Gajraj Corps (4 Corps) are fully alert and geared up to react swiftly to any flood related contingency, he said.  PTI