New Delhi [India], June 10 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday to review the country's preparedness for flood management.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah also reviewed long-term measures being undertaken to mitigate the menace of floods in the country.
Meanwhile, floods and landslides in Assam claimed three more lives on Sunday, raising the total death toll to 26 this year, officials said.
According to the reports of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 20 people have died due to floods in the state this year so far, while six others died due to landslides.
On Sunday, three children drowned in floodwaters at the Kamalpur area in Kamrup district.
Nearly 2.60 lakh people from 11 districts, including Hailakandi, Sribhumi, Morigaon, Kamrup, Goalpara, Cachar, Nagaon, Kamrup (M), Darrang, Lakhimpur, and Golaghat, are still affected by the deluge.
Similarly, in Sikkim, several days of heavy rainfall triggered landslides, mudslides, flash floods, and rockfalls in many parts of the state.
Recently, more than 1,600 tourists were rescued by road from Lachung and Lachen valleys in a massive ground operation. The tourists, including several elderly individuals and children, were safely escorted through challenging terrain and intermittent weather disturbances.
In Sikkim, the state government has officially declared the damage caused by continuous rainfall in Mangan district since May 28 as a "disaster" under Section 22(2)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
In Manipur, the Fire Service, Assam Rifles, SDRF, NDRF, and Indian Army carried out joint evacuation operations to rescue stranded medical students and staff from the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal. The campus was severely affected by waterlogging due to continuous heavy rainfall.
Earlier on June 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, and Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla to take stock of the situation caused by heavy rainfall and floods in the northeastern region.
PM Modi assured full help and support from the Centre.