Assam Floods: Two Rhinos spotted in residential area as forests remain flooded

As the forest areas remain submerged under the water following the incessant rainfall in Assam, two rhinos were spotted in a residential area near Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday. The Assam flood situation has abandoned hundreds of wild animals and killed a total of 137 animals at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Earlier, in another incident, a female rhinoceros and her calf were spotted in the residential area of Myung in the Morigaon district. The rhinos were seen walking in the residential area near the Range office in Myung, Pobitora.

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"In the history of the wildlife sanctuary, it is the first time that rhino and its child reached the range office campus due to lack of food. The floods have been extremely damaging from a food point of view," Jitendra Kumar, District Forest Officer, Guwahati Wildlife Division told ANI.

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The devastation caused by the floods

The deluge situation in the northeast state has affected over 56,71,018 people in 33 districts and 129 revenue circles where a large portion of the land is still underwater. The flood report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Tuesday revealed that a total of 104 people have died in flood-related incidents, and 26 were killed in landslides taking the death toll to 130. Over 5,305 villages have been affected by the floods in Assam, the report said. The Brahmaputra floodplains, including Kaziranga, remain submerged, meanwhile, the National Highway-37 has been opened for small vehicles.

Goalpara continues to be the worst-hit district with over 4.45 lakh people being affected by the flood. While 3.07 lakh and 2.7 lakh people have been submerged in Barpeta and Morigaon districts respectively, the ASDMA report stated. Furthermore, the district administrations are operating 398 relief camps and distribution centres in 16 districts, which has given shelter to 42,275 flood victims.
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(With inputs from ANI)