Goalpara:
More than 70 people have been killed and lakhs displaced in floods and landslides in the two northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya.
The two states have been rammed by heavy rain over the last few days. While Meghalaya has recorded 40 deaths, the number of people killed in Assam on Thursday morning rose to 32. Over 10 lakh people are believed to have been displaced from their homes and forced to flee to relief camps across 15 districts of the two states. Over 100 relief camps have been set up in both states.
The Indian Army along with the Border Security Force, the National Disaster Response Force and other state agencies are engaged in massive relief work, transporting ration to the places which are submerged.
Although the National Highway 37, which leads from Guwahati to Goalpara and onwards to the Assam - Bengal border, has always been a busy road, traffic on the road has come to a standstill over the last few days. Thousands of people could be seen camping on both sides of the national highway in makeshift tents to escape their inundated villages nearby.
Moinul Haq, and his extended family consisting of six young children and some as young as six months, have spent the last three days out on the national highway. Breakfast for the kids is puffed rice mixed with water. Some local NGO's have also given bread and biscuits.
The family claims that they have received a one-time distribution of a kilogram of rice and pulses per person, not enough to meet their requirements.
A few kilometres ahead on the same road, the NDTV team meets another family that has just attempted to enter their home as the water levels have receded a bit.
But Jamshed Khan, the head of the family says rebuilding will take at least 3 months. The roofs of both huts in his compound have been blown away and all of the family's belongings are soaked in water, including all their important documents.
Mr Khan said the flood waters rose on Monday, and in a huge wave from neighbouring Meghalaya. The family had been warned this could happen and so were already out on the road, National Highway 37.
Although water levels receding sparks a glimmer of hope for the people in the two states, timely relief work is a priority.