GUWAHATI, July 20 ? The Assam Government today called upon the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to take prompt and effective steps for short, medium and long term measures for the solution of the problem of floods, which has become a ?life and death issue? for the people of Assam. An effective and permanent solution to the problem of flood has to be found out at national level with international cooperation, said the State Government. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister here today, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the Central Government should treat the State?s flood and erosion as a...

GUWAHATI, July 20 ? Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said today that the Central Government should take ?active steps? to address Assam?s problem of floods. The problem has a regional as well as an international dimension. The Central Government will definitely take up the issue at the international level too, he told media persons at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport here this afternoon. A holistic approach to solve the problem was needed, he said, apprising the media persons that he was going to constitute a Task Force to look into the problem of recurrent floods in Assam and...

SHILLONG, July 19 ? With incessant rains, the flood situation in Meghalaya?s Garo Hills has turned grim on Sunday, affecting 80,000 people in 100 villages. The West Garo Hills district Deputy Commissioner S Jagannathan told PTI over phone that a high-level official team met at Tura to review the situation and a ?preliminary report? would be submitted to the Chief Minister tomorrow. Jagannathan said as per the report, Rs. 15 lakh was needed for distribution of relief like rice, dal and salt, Rs. 10 lakh for medicine for the affected people, Rs. 20 lakh for veterinary medicine, Rs. 24 lakh for...

AGARTALA, July 19 ? Tripura continued to remain cut off from the rest of the country since July 9 due to landslides caused by incessant rains, official sources said today. A senior official of the Border Road Task Force, which looks after NH 44 linking Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, said the road was opened to traffic after clearing the debris on July 16 but heavy rains again caused landslides in several parts of Sonarpur in Meghalaya stopping vehicular movement on the national highway.

Incessant rains had caused huge landslide on the roads and demolished many pucca structures due to rolling...

ITANAGAR, July 19 ? Torrential rains in the past 20 days have created a ?terrible situation? in flood-affected Arunachal Pradesh, leaving at least 10 dead amidst fear of a higher toll, state relief commissioner said on Sunday. Chief Minister Gegong Apang sought Rs. 200 crore from the Centre for relief in the State where army authorities had been alerted. Relief Commissioner MK Parida told a press conference here that due to change of course of Sibo Korang and Monag rivers, half of Pasighat, headquarters of East Siang district, was submerged affecting around 15,000 people.

While 10 deaths were...