Assam’s flood situation remained critical on Thursday with over 6.43 lakh people affected in 10 districts, while incessant rains threatened to aggravate the situation as several major rivers are already in spate, according to an official report.
GUWAHATI — Assam’s flood situation remained critical on Thursday with over 6.43 lakh people affected in 10 districts, while incessant rains threatened to aggravate the situation as several major rivers are already in spate, according to an official report.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the situation, and said an inter-ministerial central team will visit the state within a day or two to assess the extent of damage in the deluge which left at least 41 people dead.
Sarma said that 70 to 80 more people have been missing, and the toll is likely to increase.
With waters from NEEPCO’s Doyang hydel power project in Nagaland being released following increasing water levels there, the government machinery in Assam is bracing up for a further rise in flood levels late on Thursday.
The issue of devastation caused by the floods was raised in the Assembly for the second day, which saw Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi being suspended from the House for the day after he climbed atop his desk while protesting the Speaker's rejection of his adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the flood situation.
An Assam State Disaster Management (ASDMA) report said that 35 revenue circles and 889 villages in the 10 districts of Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Sivasagar continued to be affected.
More than 6,43,350 people are reeling under the deluge on Thursday. Over 6.53 lakh people had been affected by the floods in 11 districts on July 22.
The report said that 99 relief camps are operational, sheltering 24,596 people. A crop area of 24891.66 hectares also remained submerged.
Major rivers flowing above the danger level are Buridihing at Khowang (Dibrugarh), Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nganglamuraghat (Sivasagar), Dhansiri at Numaligarh (Golaghat) and Kushiyara at Sribhumi.
Multiple agencies, including the Army, Air Force, NDRF and SDRF, continued to carry out rescue and relief operations, evacuating stranded people and providing essential items in the water-logged areas.
The chief minister, who was on a tour of the worst-hit eastern districts, said that the Union Home minister dialled him to enquire about the situation.
“I received a call from Hon'ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji. In view of the unprecedented flood situation in Assam, he informed me that an Inter-Ministerial Central Team will soon visit the state to assess the extent of the damage, and help determine the Central assistance required for rebuilding livelihoods,” Sarma said in a post on X.
He expressed gratitude to Shah for standing by the people of Assam during this difficult time.
“The flash floods, triggered by a cloudburst upstream, have wreaked havoc on the lives of our people,” the CM added.
Later, speaking to reporters after inspecting a relief camp at Komarbondha in Golaghat district, Sarma said Shah informed him that a central team with officials drawn from all stakeholder ministries will come to the state "today or tomorrow”.
He said the flood-affected people were facing a host of problems, with crop land submerged, important documents destroyed and poultry washed away.
“The people are in a difficult situation, and the government will try to help them in all possible ways,” Sarma said.
In another media interaction, Sarma expressed apprehension that 70 to 80 more people are missing and the death toll is likely to increase.
He said water from a NEEPCO power project in Nagaland is being released due to rising levels, and precautions are being ensured in the downstream areas of Assam.
He maintained that the release of water in a controlled manner from a reservoir in normal times does not create a major problem.
The unprecedented flooding happened earlier this week due to water gushing down following a cloudburst in the neighbouring state, the CM added.
“We have to live with the geography where waters from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya create problems for us. As development happens in the hills, with more roads, industries, hill cutting, our problems have increased,” he said.
In another post on X, the chief minister said, “cloudbursts upstream, coupled with localised heavy rainfall, 436 per cent above normal, have led to flooding in villages that have not seen such devastation in recent history”.
Sarma said that the state government was working closely with various departments and the Centre to prepare a comprehensive long-term rehabilitation package for every affected family.
“Last but not the least, once the immediate crisis subsides, we will begin a structured dialogue with neighbouring states to establish a stronger coordination mechanism that can better protect our people from the impact of upstream cloudbursts and similar calamities in the future,” he said.
In the state Assembly, Gogoi raised the flood issue and sought time from Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass to allow him to speak on the scale of devastation in three eastern districts, requesting an adjournment motion to discuss the matter.
The Speaker rejected the adjournment motion and said that a similar one was brought in by Congress on Wednesday, which was also rejected.
On this, the opposition MLA started shouting and begged Dass to allow him to speak for two minutes.
When Dass proceeded with the next item of business, Gogoi stood on his chair and continued raising slogans. As the Speaker ignored him, the MLA climbed on his desk and continued shouting.
The Speaker immediately suspended the Raijor Dal president and asked the Marshals to take him out of the House, who had to lift the MLA out.