Sabroom , Aug 24, 2024, TRIPURA TIMES Desk

Sabroom, Aug 24: Sabroom, the southernmost part of Tripura, is facing severe challenges in the post-flood situation.

The floods left several villages devastated. Thousands of families are still in temporary shelters.

Amid sufferings of the flood-affected people, a team of 14 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel reached Sabroom and launched relief operations in the worst-affected areas.

The situation in Sabroom is so dire that communication with many of the flood-hit regions still remains impossible.

The remote areas like Harbatali, Merupara, and sections of the Poangbari Block, such as Takkatulsi and Monirampura, along with Kaladepa ADC Village in the Satchand Block, are still out of reach for the sub-divisional administration.

The Poangbari Block, in particular, has been completely cut off due to the absence of any network connectivity. The area remains isolated, with roads submerged and landslides blocking all access.

While the water level of the Feni River in Sabroom's Manughat area is slowly receding, parts of the road are still underwater. The route from Kalyan Nagar to Manughat remains inaccessible, hampering the delivery of essential supplies to refugee camps in these areas.

At around 2 pm on Saturday, when the NDRF personnel reached the relief camp at Bortola in Kalyan Nagar, the residents expressed their dire need for drinking water. The camp currently shelters around 76 families who are facing an acute shortage of potable water.

Subrata Majumdar, an elderly resident of the area, mentioned that he had never witnessed such a severe flood in the past 60 years. He expressed gratitude towards the Sabroom sub-divisional administration and various NGOs for their humanitarian assistance.

He also highlighted the efforts of local social worker Tapas Lodh, who braved the floodwaters on a makeshift banana raft to deliver drinking water and food. Additionally, the JNS Club in Sabroom distributed food and biscuits to the refugee camps in Kalyan Nagar and Manughat. Rajib Das, an English teacher in Sabroom, and a new cultural and social organization, have also been distributing food and water to the flood-affected people.

The situation in the flood-hit areas of Sabroom remains alarming. The lack of sufficient government personnel has hindered the delivery of aid to those in need.

According to sources, despite having six DCMs at the Sabroom SDM office, three are currently on leave. Among the remaining, only one has been working tirelessly round the clock. There is an urgent need for additional personnel to expedite the relief operations in Sabroom. With heavy rainfall predicted over the next two days, fear and anxiety have once again gripped the flood-hit villagers.

Opposition leader and CPM MLA, Jitendra Chaudhury on Saturday walked approximately six kilometres through the flood-affected areas of the Poangbari Block. He interacted with the affected villagers to assess the ground situation.

SDM Sabroom Shibjyoti Dutta stated that while the flood situation has improved in some areas, several relief camps are still facing shortages of drinking water, medicines, and other essential supplies. Due to network and road connectivity issues, some areas remain difficult to access.