Hailakandi Flood Relief Scam: 6 held for hiding Essential items in Private Godown

Floods have devastated the whole Barak valley, cutting it off from the rest of the northeast. People witnessed the inundation of almost the entire city in flood, which had never occurred before. The Barak river breaching embankment has brought misery to the people. On Wednesday, Hailakandi police recovered a large number of essential items, including 13 bags of rice from the Algapur area, which were given to distribute among the various areas of flood-ravaged Algapur, and arrested six people including government officials.

There is a severe drinking water shortage in three districts of Barak Valley. People in villages had to rush to shelter camps overnight, with limited support. Many private organizations parallel to the government have worked day and night for these helpless people. But some people have started the scam even in the midst of this disaster. 

The items were hidden in a private warehouse instead of given to the flood victims. Police along with the circle officer of Algapur rushed to the spot and recovered the items after local people filed complaints. The accused are identified as Mandal Abdul Rahim Barbhuyan, Circle officer Fayez Uddin Choudhary, BLO Selim Uddin Laskar, Sarif Uddin Barbhuyan, and Village president Rahman Laskar. 

The flood situation in Assam has worsened further. Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has informed that 24.92 lakh people are still affected by the floods.  Most of the areas in the Silchar town of Cachar have been submerged for more than a week. Officials stated that three people died in Cachar and one each in Morigaon and Dhubri.

With this, the number of people who lost their lives in flood-related incidents in the state this year has increased to 139. According to ASDMA, three others are missing, in which two people from Cachar and one person from Chirang district have gone missing.