GUWAHATI: Guwahati: The death toll from flash floods in Arunachal Pradesh’s Keyi Panyor district rose to three after the body of another missing man was recovered from the Kimin circle in downstream Papum Pare district, the state disaster management department said on Sunday.The deceased was identified as NEEPCO employee Saurabh Kumar Kharwar (30), who had been missing since Wednesday after flash floods swept through the NEEPCO colony and a neighbouring village. While a total of five persons had been swept away, bodies of two individuals had been recovered earlier. Two other persons still remain missing.Heavy rain also worsened the flood situation in Assam, with more than 15,000 people affected in Dhemaji district.After over 110 mm of rainfall in and around Dhemaji and floods and riverbank erosion that impacted a railway bridge, train services between Archipathar and Simen Chapari stations were suspended on Sunday.“This bridge, constructed in 1965, and later converted to broad gauge, was in good and safe condition, but due to washing away of a large portion of the river bank during the heavy rains, one of its piers became unstable,” NF Railway CPRO KK Sharma said.In Arunachal Pradesh, landslides were reported from Tirap, East Siang and Anjaw districts. A preliminary assessment by the State Disaster Management Department said nearly 2,000 people have been affected in and around the worst-hit NEEPCO Colony in Keyi Panyor district, while another 3,250 people have been impacted in Siang district over the past 24 hours.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said he had been closely monitoring the flood situation in Dhemaji.“We are deeply saddened by the impact it has had on the lives of our people and in this difficult time, we firmly stand with them. We are deploying a whole of government approach and mobilising all our resources to prioritise the immediate safety and long term rehabilitation of all families affected,” Sarma wrote in a social media post.Sarma directed two Cabinet ministers—Water Resources Minister Sushanta Borgohain and Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta—to remain stationed in Dhemaji and supervise the relief operation.
