The southernmost region of Tripura, Sabroom, is grappling with severe post-flood challenges, with numerous villages devastated and thousands of families still confined to temporary shelters. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has swiftly responded to the crisis, deploying a team of 14 personnel to the worst-affected areas to initiate relief operations.
The situation in Sabroom remains dire, with communication to many flood-hit regions still largely cut off. Remote areas, including Harbatali, Merupara, and sections of the Poangbari Block such as Takkatulsi and Monirampura, along with Kaladepa ADC Village in the Satchand Block, are beyond the reach of the sub-divisional administration. Poangbari Block, in particular, has been completely isolated due to the absence of network connectivity, with roads submerged and landslides obstructing all access routes.
Although the water level of the Feni River in Sabroom’s Manughat area is slowly receding, portions of the road remain underwater. The critical route from Kalyan Nagar to Manughat is still inaccessible, complicating the delivery of essential supplies to refugee camps in these regions.
At around 2 PM on Saturday, the NDRF personnel arrived at the relief camp in Bortola, Kalyan Nagar, where they were met with desperate pleas for drinking water from the camp’s residents. Currently, the camp shelters around 76 families who are facing an acute shortage of potable water.
Subrata Majumdar, an elderly resident, remarked on the unprecedented nature of the flood, stating that he had not witnessed such devastation in his 60 years of living in the area. He expressed his gratitude to the Sabroom sub-divisional administration and various NGOs for their humanitarian efforts. Local social worker Tapas Lodh was particularly praised for his bravery in navigating floodwaters on a makeshift banana raft to deliver drinking water and food to those in need. Additionally, the JNS Club in Sabroom distributed food and biscuits to refugee camps in Kalyan Nagar and Manughat. Rajib Das, an English teacher in Sabroom, along with a new cultural and social organization, has also been actively distributing food and water to the affected populace.
Despite these efforts, the situation remains alarming due to the shortage of government personnel. Sources indicate that although the Sabroom SDM office has six Deputy Collectors of Magistrate (DCMs), three are currently on leave, leaving only one officer to manage the relief efforts round the clock. This shortage has severely hampered the speed and effectiveness of the relief operations. With heavy rainfall predicted over the next two days, anxiety and fear have once again gripped the flood-affected villagers.
Opposition leader and CPM MLA, Jitendra Chaudhury, demonstrated his commitment to the cause by walking approximately six kilometers through the flood-affected areas of Poangbari Block. He interacted with villagers to assess the ground situation and the urgent needs of the community.
SDM Sabroom, Shibjyoti Dutta, acknowledged that while the flood situation has improved in some areas, many relief camps still face critical shortages of drinking water, medicines, and other essential supplies. Connectivity issues due to network outages and road blockages have made it difficult to reach certain areas, further complicating the relief efforts.
