GUWAHATI (TIP): The flood situation in Assam has turned worse in the last 12 hours following incessant rain, affecting more than 2.9 lakh people in 13 districts. The Army was called in to assist the civil administration and provide relief to the flood-hit on Friday.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 84,000 people have taken shelter in 124 relief camps set up at various locations in the 13 affected districts. The number of people affected was 68,000 on Tuesday. More than 28,000 hectares of standing crop have been damaged by the floods, the ASDMA said.

The Jorhat district administration has banned plying of boats and ferries, the only mode of transportation to Majuli, as the water level continued to rise. While railway tracks have been inundated in various places of lower Assam affecting movement of trains, landslides in Dima Hasao district cut off road communication to the Barak Valley, Mizoram, Tripura and southern parts of Manipur and Meghalaya.

The floodwaters of the Brahmaputra, Beki, Puthimari and Jia Bharali have breached several embankments, swept away approach to bridges and damaged major roads at many places. Defence PRO Lt-Col S Newton said, “The Red Horns Division of the Army has launched flood-relief operations to aid the civil administration and provide succour to locals. On August 20, the Army launched two columns for flood relief operations in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts.”

He added that the rising waters of the Saralbhanga river in Kokrajhar and other major tributaries of the Bharamaputra in Chirang have displaced many villagers.