Assam districts put on high alert ahead of Bhutan releasing water from dam

Guwahati, July 13 Several district administrations in Assam have been put on alert prior to Bhutan's plan to release extra water from the Kurichu dam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.

Taking to Twitter, Sarma wrote: “The Royal Government of Bhutan has informed us that tonight there will be an excess release of water from the Kurichu Dam. We have alerted our district administrations to remain vigilant and assist the people in every possible way in case the water breaches the Beki and Manas rivers.”

The floods that hit Assam last month affected roughly 500,000 people in 19 different districts.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the impacted districts included Barpeta, Dhubri, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Kamrup, and Nalbari.

The worst-affected district was Bajali, which has a population of 2,67,253.

As many as 15,841 individuals had sought refuge in 73 shelter camps in this district.

The inhabitants of these camps received food from the Assam government.

In fact, due to excess rainfall in the catchment area in Bhutan, some parts of Assam have been freshly inundated in the last couple of days. According to the disaster management authority, the water levels are rising in many areas with the Brahmaputra River flowing above the danger level in some places.