Assam COVID Warriors Also Multitask As Flood Relief Workers Amid Crisis

Gautam Das and his family have been camping on this embankment of the Brahmaputra River for a week, since their village in Palashbari was flooded. The waters have receded now. But this 45-year-old salaried worker regrets that government aid has come late to his village, which is just 30 km from the capital Guwahati.

"We faced a problem with food, because due to the previous closure our work is completely off ... In the last flood, even the NGOs came and helped us with the food, but this time nobody came. I heard that today they are giving food. " Das told NDTV.

When relief came, it was for long lines of people facing dual problems: the floods and COVID-19. For the government too, it is an unprecedented challenge.

In Assam, where floods have affected more than 35 lakh people, five died on Friday, bringing the deaths to 76. The floods occurred at a time when the state saw the highest single-day peak of 1,218 cases of coronavirus on Friday.

The state has recorded more than 21,000 positive cases and there have been 51 deaths. It's a double challenge for the government, and taking on this fight head-on is front-line government officials, many of whom double as COVID-19 warriors and flood relief managers.

At the help center, it's non-stop multitasking for Kamrup Rural's Deputy Additional Commissioner and his team of around 30 years. All of them have become COVID-19 warriors and managers for flood relief.

From NDTV News