Assam CM orders stepped-up relief as BJP MLA flags inaccessible flood-hit areas
Guwahati, Jul 24 (PTI): Assam BJP MLA Mayur Borgohain on Friday painted a grim and helpless picture of the administration’s flood relief efforts in Sivasagar district’s Nazira subdivision, even as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stressed the need to explore all possible options to reach those still stranded.
At a review meeting of flood-hit districts, chaired by Sarma, the BJP legislator said the state machinery has not been able to reach the worst-affected areas of his Nazira constituency and around 30 per cent of the affected people are yet to receive any relief.
“In my constituency, around 270 wards are affected. The bigger issue is that we have been able to reach only 70 per cent of places in Nazira and 30 per cent of areas are still unreachable,” Borgohain said at the meeting, two video clips of which were shared by Sarma on his Facebook page.
The roads are full of mud, and even JCBs and tractors are unable to move. The administration has not been able to reach the worst-affected places of the constituency, including panchayats in Kamal Chapori, the ruling party MLA said. “That is the biggest challenge for us. There is no means to reach the victims, and we have failed to even provide drinking water. We will not be able to reach them even tomorrow,” he said.
When Sarma asked if airdropping had been used to distribute relief to those in inaccessible areas, Borgohain said the exercise had been carried out but had failed to reach all the affected people.
“We did airdrop. But if there are 200 families, only 10-20 packets are airdropped. People have complained about this. This has damaged the image of the government,” he added.
Borgohain also said since the water level in the far-flung areas has started receding, boats cannot go there.
When the CM asked what could be the possible solution, the MLA said: “We don’t know. We have not been able to find any option as of now.”
Charaideo District Commissioner Neha Yadav also presented a similar picture and said efforts were on to reach all the flood victims.
“The areas that are left till now, we will be able to reach them by tonight,” she claimed.
In a post on X, the Chief Minister’s Office said Sarma chaired a virtual review meeting with the district commissioners of the flood-hit districts to assess the latest situation in Upper Assam with special focus on accelerating rescue and relief operations.
“HCM directed the district administrations to prioritise the rescue of stranded people in the still cut-off areas of Charaideo and Sivasagar, particularly in the Nazira subdivision,” it added.
CMO said Sarma instructed the officials to take assistance from IAF helicopters wherever required, implement micro-level planning to ensure timely delivery of adequate food supplies to every affected family, clear mud-clogged roads to restore connectivity and strengthen mobile medical services in the flood-hit areas.
The flood situation in the state remained critical on Friday, with many rivers continuing to rise following incessant rain. Forty-seven people have died in the deluge so far, while over 7.21 lakh people are currently affected across 11 districts.
Around 40 people are still missing, and the toll might increase, Sarma said while speaking to reporters earlier during the day.