The floods that have hit northeast India and Bangladesh are said to be the worst in man’s memory. Millions of people on both sides of the border have lost their homes and are without food and water. – The water has taken the power in the city, so we also do not have access to telephones or internet. Tells Ripon Dutta. He has waded through masses of water to be able to call news from one of the city’s functioning mobile masts. Ripon is back inside the house to rescue belongings that have not yet been destroyed by the water. Photo: private Ripon tells how he has spent his days rescuing things from the flooded house: TV, laptop and aquarium fisherman. Catching fish from water in the streets The town of Silchar with 300,000 inhabitants is located in the middle of the worst affected flood area in the state of Assam. Roads and railway tracks are flooded and the city is isolated from the outside world. In some parts of the city, the water masses are so large and the current so strong that food must be dropped off by helicopters. – The river now flows across the city, so people catch fish in the dirty water in the streets, Ripon says. The situation is especially serious for the elderly, pregnant women and the sick. The water has flooded several hospitals. But people are trying to make the best of the situation. 2524 villages in the state of Assam are affected by the flood. People are trying to save what they can from the houses that are under water. Photo: BIJU BORO / AFP Did not listen to flood warnings – There were flood warnings, but my family did not listen to them. We have never experienced such a flood. They thought the authorities would scare them, says Anwesha Dutta. Then the family was caught by the floodwaters. Now they are surrounded by rivers on all sides of the house. Anwesha Dutta’s childhood home in Silchar is under water. She is Ripon’s cousin, but now lives in Bergen. She tells of her 97-year-old grandmother who has been forced to leave the house she has lived in all her life. Fortunately, they have friends with a tall house where they can live until the flood goes down. – One wall in our house has collapsed, so it will probably not be possible to move back. It must be rebuilt, says Dutta. She visited the family in Silchar in May. Then the state experienced the first flood this season. The floods have hit areas in Bangladesh and in the Indian state of Assam. The Dutta family is one of several million families in the flood area who are now homeless. According to Assam’s Disaster Management Authority, 2,524 villages in the state have been affected by the flood. Over 200,000 have had to flee and live in camps. Anwesha Dutta and Grandma. Now the woman of 97 has had to leave the house she has lived in all her life. Photo: private Old conflicts flare up The desperate situation has caused religious conflicts in the city to flourish. – Some have destroyed the flood defenses that were built after the previous flood, says Rokibuzz Zaman. Zaman is a journalist in the regional newspaper Scroll and has covered the situation in the area A flood left earlier in our villages around Silchar under water. In the aftermath of the flood, farmers opened dams to empty their fields of water. – The police have looked at the case and deny that the man-made destruction is the reason for the massive floods of the city. Nevertheless, rumors have started to spread, says Zaman. One of those who helps to retell these stories is Ripon Dutta. He is critical of the fact that the farmers wanted to save their own fields and empty them of water. – They did not think that they destroyed for the whole city, says Ripon. He says that several police stations in the city are under water and that the police are not able to solve all the new problems that have arisen in the city during the flood. – Thieves come into the darkened houses at night and take everything they find. People are scared. The natural disasters have led to old conflicts in the city being inflated. – Silchar is a sensitive city. There have been many clashes between the city’s Christians, Muslims and Hindus in the past, says Zaman. Muslims make up one third of the population of the state of Assam, which borders Bangladesh. This year’s monsoon season has led to more floods, residents of Assam thought they had finished with the worst after the flood in May. Photo: AP Climate change Large-scale floods are not uncommon in the area, but this usually happens when it rains during the monsoon season later in the year. This year the rain came all in March. Researchers have not yet determined the extent to which climate change plays a role, but conclude that the monsoon era since the 1950s has become increasingly unpredictable. Much of the rain that previously fell in a year, now comes in a few weeks, while the drought periods have become longer, states climate researcher Roxy Matthew Koll at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. The water has started to recede in several places, but more rain has been forecast this week.
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Cities are under water after floods in India – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
