Central team visits flood-affected areas in Tripura; reviews extent of destruction

Agartala, Aug 29: An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) arrived in Tripura on Thursday to assess the extensive flood damage caused by heavy rains since August 19.

The five-member team, led by BC Joshi, Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry, visited severely affected areas in South Tripura and Gomati districts.

During their visit, the IMCT toured several flood-affected areas including Udaipur, Maharani, Amarpur, Bampur, Salgarah, and Kakraban.

Additional District Magistrate Binoy Bhusan Das said, “The team reached Udaipur this morning and engaged in discussions about the relief efforts and did damage assessment.”

The team also met with senior officials and discussed ongoing relief and rescue operations.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rinku Lather said, “The central team’s visit aims to make a comprehensive assessment of the floods. We have shown them the damage to critical infrastructure and sectors, including the Bankar bridge area and agricultural lands.”

The state government had previously requested the centre to send in a team to carry out on-ground inspection to gauge the full extent of the devastation.

Tripura has been reeling under severe flood over the past 10 days. The floods have wreaked havoc, inundating large residential areas and agricultural lands in the state.

Despite significant receding of water levels in the Gomati River, many regions remain submerged. Preliminary estimates place the damage at approximately ₹15,000 crore, with potential increases pending further evaluation.

In response to the calamity, the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Tripura Disaster Management Authority (TDMA) has declared the entire state a “Natural Calamity Affected Zone”. Chief Secretary Tripura is overseeing the response to the disaster.