In Assam's Flood-Hit Goalpara, Social Distancing Concerns At Relief Centre

53-year-old Bhanumati Roy is busy cooking food for the rest of the inmates, sheltered at a government school at Balijana, 150 KM west of Guwahati in lower Assam's Goalpara district. Her village - Amguri is still inundated by flash floods due to cloud burst in neighboring Garo hills of Meghalaya. Her home is damaged and the only secure place for her is this relief camp, but there is a fear of coronavirus transmission since about 600 villagers are together. 

"The floodwater came overnight, we ran to safety; we have seen bigger floods before. But even in relief camps we are worried. It's an unknown virus there are so many people here, we are trying to maintain distance, using masks," Ms Roy told NDTV.

Goalpara, bordering Meghalaya, is the worst-hit district. About 2.15 lakh people have been affected by the first wave of floods; over 16 thousands of them have been shifted to relief camps in the district. One person has died in the area due to drowning. 60 villages in Balijana, 111 villages in Lakhipur are inundated.

For the villagers of Amguri floods are nothing new. They have faced far more massive floods in the past but this time the relief camps wear a different look.

The Assam government has rolled out a new flood manual with COVID norms. There are health workers deployed in every relief camp, masks and sanitizers given and social distancing has been emphasized.

For flood victims, it is twice the trouble. They claim they suffered at lockdown, with a COVID spike and floods and uncertainty looms large.

"The government is trying to help us, norms are in place but first there is a lockdown, COVID spike and now floods have destroyed our crops, we are worried how long this will be there," said the village headman of Amguri, Barpruno Ray.

The weather department had sounded a red alert for heavy rains. The water level in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries are on the rise, and streams of people are returning back every day.

"Being sheltered in a relief camp is not new for these people since the flood is an annual ritual for them, what's new this time is that the state is also battling coronavirus. Due to this, it will be more challenging for the government to accommodate more people in relief camps and also, ensure social distancing is maintained to avoid the virus transmission," said a local youth of Balijana, Nilot Daimary.