HT This Day: June 28, 1976 -- 700,000 homeless in Cachar floods

Calcutta: The floods in Cachar district of Assam have rendered about 7,00,000 people homeless, with the apprehension that the “figure might go even higher as more hutments were collapsing following recession of flood waters in some areas”.

This was stated by Assam’s Minister of State for Transport Suranjan Nandi at Dum Dum airport here today after an on-the-spot survey of the flood situation there.

He said the total loss of standing crops worth over ₹7 crore in about 15,000 acres had shattered the economy of this predominantly agricultural district. There had been a heavy loss of cattle too, he said and added that over 100,000 hutments belonging mostly to poor peasants and wage earners had been destroyed.

Mr Nandi said the Assam government had directed the sub divisional officers of Cachar district to send officials to the rural areas to make an estimate of the funds required for the rehabilitation of the homeless and supply of seeds to the peasants to enable them to resume cultivation and loan for cattle.

The state government had already spent ₹15 lakh on gratuitous relief to the victims, he said.

Floods in Tripura The flood situation in Tripura further improved today with the water level of the Manu, falling below the danger mark, according to reports received here.

The reports said Kailashahar town in north Tripura was almost free from flood waters but the normal traffic was yet to be resumed as the Kailashahar-Dharamnagar road had been badly damaged.

The Kilashahar airstrip was free from flood waters, but the restoration of civil air traffic between Kailashahar and other parts of the country which remained suspended since June 10, will take a few days more, the reports said.