World Tibet Network News Friday, June 12, 1998

NEW DELHI, June 11 (AFP) - The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan was cut off Thursday following heavy rains and landslides which have killed 50 people in the neighbouring Indian state of Assam, news agencies said. The only road linking Bhutan, a tiny landlocked state with some two million people, and India was submerged by water flowing down the mountains, the Press Trust of India reported. An Indian official said the army had been asked to restore road, power and communication links in Jaigaon, a small Indian town which is the gateway to the Himalayan kingdom. Bhutan borders Tibet in the north and northeastern Indian states on the other three sides. At least 50 people have died in landslides and flash floods caused by torrential rains lashing the far-eastern Indian state of Assam for some five days, the United News of India said. The agency said a portion of a national highway had been submerged while large parts of Dibrugarh town were under a sea of water. State officials said they expected the situation to

worsen in the coming days. Floods are an annual feature in India claiming hundreds of lives.

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