The water level of the Brahmaputra in Guwahati is inching closer to the danger level, raising fear of floods in the low-lying areas.

According to the Central Water Commission (CWC) here, the water level has been rising since the night of May 16. Initially in Guwahati, it was rising by 1cm-2cm, but the rise is significantly higher in the past few days following incessant rain across the state.

The danger level in Guwahati is 49.68 metres. On Wednesday, it was 47.95 metres.

The CWC sounded an alert, saying the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributary Kopili are rising rapidly following incessant rain and there is danger of the Kamrup deputy commissioner’s office premises being flooded.

Several areas in the city such as Anil Nagar, Gandhibasti, Lakhtokia, among others, witnessed flash floods following heavy rain throughout the night. With the drains already filled to the capacity, the roads and bylanes in these areas were flooded for several hours. However, there was no report of floodwaters entering houses or damaging properties.

A senior official of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) told this correspondent that there was no report of major floods in the city areas, although the flood situation in the state was worsening with no let-up in rainfall. The Met office here has predicted more rain in the city and other parts of the state.

KNP visit: Assam forest and environment minister Parimal Suklyabaidya visited Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on Wednesday.

At Mihimukh Convention Centre he had a meeting with higher officials, including chief wildlife warden M.K. Yadav and took stock of the measures initiated for flood preparedness.

He visited the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, Panbari, at Kaziranga and took stock of steps taken for wildlife rehabilitation and conservation, specially during floods. Suklyabaidya also instructed the officials to be vigilant against rhino poaching.

Additional reporting by Sanjoy Hazarika in Bokakhat