In Garo Hills, elderly woman and child drown

SHILLONG: Two people lost their lives in the Garo Hills on Thursday after drowning in the border town of Mahendraganj in South West Garo Hills district. Meghalaya has been reeling under floods after the Brahmaputra and Jinjiram rivers breached banks and inundated the plain areas. The deaths take the toll to 3 in the state.
Deputy Commissioner Ram Kumar Singh confirmed that an elderly woman and a child lost their lives after they drowned outside their homes in the localities of Fakirpara and Daspara of Mahendraganj town.“An elderly woman lost her life in Fakirpara and a child drowned in Daspara,” the deputy commissioner added.
According to reports, even though the water level was only knee deep, the elderly victim was unable to walk when the mishap happened. A similar tragedy struck the child who fell into the water unnoticed. This is the third case of drowning caused by the week-long torrential downpour. Though the rains have stopped, floodwaters have not receded so far. The DC informed that around 15,000 people are taking shelter in the 30 relief camps set up across the state.
Earlier, a child was swept away by river currents in the remote Siju-Rongara region of South Garo Hills. Floods struck the South West Garo Hills on Tuesday inundating as many as 40 villages with a population of 25,142 in the Mahendraganj-Zikzak region.