Guwahati:The flood situation remained grim in Assam today with the deluge inundating 167 villages in the largest river island Majuli besides washing away a baby rhino in Kaziranga National park.

In Majuli, 167 villages were under waist-deep floods affecting a population of 1.5 lakh and the swirling waters threatening to engulf fresh areas putting into danger the very existence of the island.

The army is assisting the government in providing relief to the affected people across the state.

Meanwhile, the river Brahmaputra along with its tributaries was flowing above the danger level in the districts of Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Dhubri, Jorhat and Kamrup where NH-31 was breached cutting off the north-east region from the rest of the country.

The Kaziranga National park is under flood waters forcing the animals, including the famous one-horned rhinos and elephants, to take shelter on the high platforms constructed within the park located in Golaghat district, park director S N Buragohain said today.

A new born baby rhino was swept away by the floods on Sunday while trying to cross a river in Kohora range of the national park in Golaghat district even as two female rhinos died due to old age in the last two days, Buragohain said.

For protection of the stray and migrating animals due to the floods towards the hills in neighbouring Karbi Anglong, the park authorities had set up barricades on the adjacent main highway for limiting vehicle speed to 40 kmph.
Source : PTI