Shillong, June 30: Torrential rains across Garo Hills for well over 14 long hours have resulted in damages to peoples’ homes, road linkages and bridges, inundated crop fields, and extensively caused landslips across many areas. The most impacted have been South and West Garo Hills districts and authorities are bracing for the worst as the weather forecast predicts more rain in the region, in the coming hours.
The rains that began late Tuesday night have been heavy for the most part of the early morning hours, causing the largest Garo Hills river- Simsang to dangerously rise in many parts of South Garo Hills through which it flows down into Bangladesh.
The Deku river in Chokpot civil sub-division of South Garo Hills, which seldom breaches the danger mark, overflowed its banks from the overnight rain and washed away the main wooden bridge that links Deku to Chokpot and beyond.
Authorities in Baghmara, district headquarters of South Garo Hills, had to shift out three families from the Malikona area after landslips from an adjoining hill damaged their homes and threatened to further give way.
“Two families have been provided accommodation in a school while another is residing with relatives,” informed district SP Rituraj Ravi.
The rains have inundated many low-lying parts of the Dalu to Baghmara road and travel along the route has become a challenge throughout the day due to blockades caused by tree falls.
In West Garo Hills, Tura town has had its share of damages caused by the rains. An autorickshaw driver sustained grievous injuries when a tree falls onto his vehicle while passing through at the Darengre area of Dobasipara on Wednesday morning.
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“Many autos and vehicles damaged including one auto-rickshaw driver injured. Clearing operations are continuing. We are expecting more rains,” informed West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh who visited several areas of the town where damages occurred.
Though the plain belt region of Phulbari, Chibinang, Tikrikilla, Bhaitbari, and Rajabala is relative without flooding, for the time being, there is apprehension the situation could turn for the worse if heavy rains take place further up in Assam which would swell up the mighty Brahmaputra that flows down towards the plains and merges with the Jinjiram river leading to a massive backflow of water, something that has happened annually.
