guwahati fortyfive year old mujibur lost everything in the floods that recently hit the state his only source of income a small fish pond in gelabeel village of barpeta district is now devoid of fish the flood waters that inundated the fish farmers village took away with it a variety of carp fish from his pond which would have been ready for sale in the next few months i encircled my fish pond with nylon nets when it did not help i increased the height of the nylon nets but the flood waters kept rising i even used my wifes sarees to protect the fish but i could not stop them from swimming away from the pond i spent all my savings on fish farming i am at a loss now mujibur said barpeta is one of the largest fishproducing districts in the state and in recent years the place has become selfsufficient in fish seed production fingerlings and fries from barpeta are also supplied to other states too but the recent floods have ravaged the fishery sector in the district according to the fishery department 80 per cent of 3500 hectare of fisheries were affected by the deluge there are 25000 fish ponds and tanks in the district however over 80 per cent of these ponds and tanks have been damaged the fishery sector in barpeta has suffered a loss to the tune of rs 5370 crore a fishery department official said meanwhile outbreak of many waterborne diseases has also been reported from the floodaffected areas of barpeta district in the postflood situation an international ngo save the children which is assessing the postflood situation in the district said cases of diarrhea have already been reported from villages like gelabeel villagers are using the flood water for cooking drinking and bathing this has increased the risk of outbreak of waterborne diseases we have also come across children suffering from diarrhea save the children communication manager anupam srivastava said according to the ngo the need of the hour is financial assistance for the floodaffected families so that they can meet their basic needs water sources need to be disinfected and flood victims must be provided with water purification tablets and handpumps must be restored and repaired families stranded on embankments must also be provided with proper assistance like food and health facilities