Despite heavy rains and storm warnings due to Cyclone Remal, boats continue to operate on the turbulent waters of the Brahmaputra in Barpeta, Assam, flouting government directives.

The incident took place at Brahmaputra river in Barpeta district on May 28.

Visuals showed even after the cyclone warning, people were seen traveling on ships with their bikes. The water flow was intense, raising the risk of potential sinking at any moment.

Several district administrations have closed schools for today as precautionary measures and Northeast Frontier Railway has also canceled several trains.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has directed all the DDMAs to review the situation and, as per need, plying of boats may be regulated in the mainstream of Brahmaputra River particularly in Dhubri, Goalpara, South Salmara-Mankachar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta districts and also Barak and Kusiara rivers in the Barak Valley districts.

State government has taken extensive measures to ensure the safety of its citizens in the wake of the rainfall and wind speeds owing to Cyclone Remal. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby and control rooms are operational, while asking people to cooperate with local administration.

Cyclone Remal has triggered heavy rain and wind in Assam and several districts are on high alert. A red alert has been issued for Chirang, Goalpara, Baksa, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj districts while an Orange alert has been issued for Dhubri, South Salmara, Bongaigaon, Bajali, Tamulpur, Barpeta, Nalbari, Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai and West Karbi Anglong districts.

Notably, the Indian Meteorological Department has warned of extremely heavy rainfall in Goalpara, Dima Hasao, Cachar and Karimganj districts today.