India’s monsoon season has been worse than usual, sweeping away possessions and leaving people huddling on raised ground
, are usually stoical about the flooding that occurs to a greater or lesser extent every monsoon season. But this year they say the situation is dramatically worse. “It was like a scene from Titanic,” one man told local media of the rising waters that have flooded all but two of the state’s districts.
In the worst-affected areas, life has been reduced to huddling on any tiny patch of raised dry ground that people can find. Families living under tarpaulin tied to bamboo poles are using dwindling supplies of cooking gas to cook basic meals. There is an air of despondency over all that has been lost: furniture, utensils, documents, irreplaceable photos.
The Assam state disaster management authority has said more than 4 million people, including 1 million children, have been affected. It hopes to send trains carrying relief including diesel, petrol and medicine to the affected areas soon.Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Some images of the flooding have been striking. In the state capital, Guwahati, one man was seen strapping together wooden planks for a raft and placing a red plastic table on top with bottles of drinking water, candles, and matchsticks. He sold his wares while rowing through the muddy waters.The Indian army has been taking food parcels to marooned villagers. Soldiers are moving from one place to another in speedboats and inflatable rafts to rescue those stranded.
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