NEW DELHI: At least 17 people have been killed by heavy rains and flooding in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam and 14 people in Bangladesh with millions displaced, officials said on Saturday. Persistent heavy rains have caused widespread disruption across South Asia with at least 68 people killed in Nepal by flash floods and landslides. Although rainfall had decreased as of Saturday, officials in Assam, a tea-growing and oil-rich state, added water levels across rivers were still overflowing. “Overflowing rivers are drowning more areas and making things worse,” said Assam’s Minister of Water Resource Keshab Mahanta. India’s Interior Minister Rajnath Singh was due to visit Assam on Saturday for an aerial survey and discussions with state officials about relief efforts. Authorities in Assam have opened more than 800 temporary shelters and food and medicines distribution centres, a senior official at the state disaster management authority said. Flooding is an annual problem during the monsoon season in South Asia but the impact has been worsened by crumbling civic infrastructure, clogged drains and uncontrolled urban expansion.