Thousands displaced in floods in north-eastern India, rain abates

By Tora Agarwala

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Thousands of people have been displaced in India's north-eastern state of Assam and at least 37 people have died in heavy rain, floods and landslides in the last two months, officials said on Monday.

Although rains have abated in the last two days and improved the flood situation marginally, at least 200,000 people were affected in 11 districts of the state due rain-related incidents, a release from the state's disaster management authority said.

More than 12,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the state and authorities said they expected another wave of floods in July, with the Kushiyara river, a transboundary river between India and Bangladesh flowing above the danger mark in several places.

India's north-east and neighbouring Bangladesh have been ravaged by floods in the last two months, leaving millions stranded, with weather authorities predicting that the situation could worsen.

The situation in Bangladesh had also improved as water levels of various rivers had receded and upstream water from India had reduced, officials said.

(Reporting by Tora Agarwala, Additional reporting by Ruma Paul, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and Michael Perry)