Rare owl, langur and turtle species recovered in Assam as police arrests their smugglers

Rare species of owl, golden langur and turtle (tricarinate hill) were recovered from three different places in Chirang district on Wednesday. The Assam police also arrested two smugglers who had these rare species in their possession. Due to bad weather in the state, these creatures are coming out of forest areas which endangers their lives. District Forest Officer Brahmananda Patiri said that after checking their health, they will be handed over to the forest department of Guwahati.

'We will release them into forests'

Assam flood situation worsens

Meanwhile, the flood situation in Assam worsened on Wednesday with one person losing his life and nearly three lakh people suffering in the deluge across 11 districts. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person was killed at Rongjuli in Goalpara district.

At present, around 2.72 lakh persons are affected due to flood in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Hojai, Darrang, Barpeta, Nalbari, Goalpara, West Karbi Anglong, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, it said. Goalpara is the worst-hit district with 2.15 lakh people affected, followed by Nalbari with over 22,000 people hit and Nagaon with nearly 11,000 persons.

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Till Tuesday, around 1.95 lakh people were affected in seven districts. The NDRF and SDRF have rescued nine people in the last 24 hours in Goalpara, while 172.53 quintals of rice, dal, salt and 804.42 litres of mustard oil have been distributed along with tarpaulin and other essential items.

Currently, Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Nimatighat in Jorhat, while Jia Bharali at NH Road Crossing in Sonitpur and Puthimari at NH Road Crossing in Kamrup. At present, 321 villages are underwater and 2,678 hectares of crop areas have been damaged, the ASDMA said.

READ | Assam flood situation worsens: 1 dead, nearly 3 lakh affected in 11 districts

The authorities are running 57 relief camps and distribution centres in five districts where 16,720 people are taking shelter.

CM Sonowal Wednesday directed officials to ensure that all COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing, hand washing and the wearing of masks are maintained at the flood relief camps so that community spread of disease can be contained during the season.

The Centre has released Rs 386 crore as the first instalment this year to the State Disaster Relief Fund and the Chief Minister emphasised on its proper utilisation for providing succour to those affected by the floods.

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(With agency inputs)