19,811 people affected, 3,365 houses damaged in Manipur floods

More than 19,000 people have been affected by floods in Manipur as several rivers overflowed and breached embankments, following heavy rainfall in the northeastern state for the last four days, officials said on Monday.

At least 3,365 houses have been damaged, 103 localities affected, and 19,811 people hit by floods triggered by torrential rains during the period, they said.

Thirty-one relief camps, mostly in Imphal East district, have been opened to mitigate the hardships of the people who have been evacuated from their homes and submerged localities.

Heingang, Wangkhei and Khurai assembly constituencies in Imphal East are the worst affected, along with Senapati district.

Forty-seven landslides have been reported in different parts of the state during the last four days.

Several localities in the state's capital, Imphal, and many parts of Imphal East district have been inundated after a swollen river breached embankments and overflowed in Khurai, Heingang and Checkon areas, they said.

The water level of the Iril river in Imphal East district crossed the danger mark but is yet to breach the embankments, the officials said.

Parts of the Senapati district have been affected after the Senapati river overflowed near Viewland colony, they said.

Waterlogging was reported on the premises of several offices, health facilities, and establishments, including All India Radio Imphal complex, and state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, after the Imphal river overflowed in the Checkon area, one of the officials said.

Several patients, who have been undergoing treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences at Porompat in Imphal East district, were shifted to other hospitals on Sunday evening as floodwaters entered the premises of the health facility, he said.

The state government on Monday said stringent action will be taken if any individual, trader or business entity is found to indulge in hoarding of essential commodities during the crisis period. ''In view of the ongoing floods and landslides occurring at multiple locations in the state due to inclement weather conditions, and in order to ensure the uninterrupted availability of essential commodities to the general public, the Directorate of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (CAF&PD), orders that no individual, trader, wholesaler, retailer or business entity shall indulge in hoarding of essential commodities during this period,'' a notification said. Any act of hoarding of essential items during this critical time will invite strict legal action, it added. Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had visited several inundated areas of Imphal town even as the army and Assam Rifles personnel rescued over 800 people from submerged localities in Imphal East, the worst-affected district, the officials said.

Bhalla, accompanied by Chief Secretary PK Singh and other senior officials, visited Kangla Nongpok Thong, Lairikyengbam Leikai, and Singjamei Bridge in Imphal and assessed the overall situation, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

In view of the incessant rain, the governor announced the extension of the summer vacation in schools in Imphal East and West districts and the Senapati sub-division of Senapati district until further orders.

The Indian army and Assam Rifles rescued approximately 800 civilians on Saturday, a statement said.

The authorities are coordinating with all relevant departments and agencies to ensure timely relief and rehabilitation efforts, another statement said.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam has urged the governor to declare the flood situation a ''state calamity''.

Manipur Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh on Sunday alleged that the water resources department has failed to control floods in various vulnerable areas of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)