SIVASAGAR, Assam, July 28: As Assam continues to battle one of its worst flood crises in decades, volunteers of The Art of Living have reached some of the worst-affected interior villages of Sivasagar district with relief materials for families cut off by floodwaters.
Triggered by torrential rain and upstream cloudbursts, the floods have affected more than seven lakh people across Upper Assam. Sivasagar has emerged as the worst-hit district, with nearly four lakh people impacted. Thousands of hectares of farmland remain submerged, livestock have been lost, and contaminated water has raised fears of disease outbreaks.
On July 27, a team of 13 volunteers from The Art of Living travelled nearly four hours from Dibrugarh to reach four remote villages in Sivasagar that remain largely inaccessible by road. Many relief teams have been unable to reach these locations, forcing the volunteers to complete the final stretch of their journey by boat.
The team distributed ration and essential relief kits to more than 250 families. Each family received rice, lentils, potatoes, detergent powder, bleaching powder, Dettol, neem soap, bathing soap, mosquito-repellent incense sticks and other sanitation essentials. Women were also provided with sanitary hygiene supplies.
In total, the volunteers distributed around 1,375 kg of food, including 750 kg of rice, 125 kg of lentils and 500 kg of potatoes, besides 800 one-litre bottles of drinking water, 31 cans of 20-litre drinking water, biscuits, salt, candles, matchboxes, sanitary napkins, ladies' innerwear, detergent powder, soaps, bleaching powder and mosquito-repellent supplies. The relief operation has so far been supported through public donations amounting to approximately ₹1.2 lakh.
Volunteers who visited the affected villages described widespread devastation. Entire cattle-rearing families have lost their livestock, agricultural land has disappeared under thick deposits of mud, sand and stones, and many homes remain inaccessible except by boat. Dead livestock, contaminated water sources and poor sanitation have created conditions that could lead to the spread of disease.
The relief operation has been led by volunteers from Duliajan and Dibrugarh, including Art of Living teacher Robin Boruah, along with YLTP graduates and local volunteers working in coordination to reach communities that have received little or no assistance so far.
“We worked in villages, where communication is poor. There is flood water everywhere and people have to travel by boat. People living deep in the interior villages are not receiving any relief. That is why we took boats and reached those villages,” says Boruah.
The Art of Living has also announced the next phase of its relief efforts. With schools remaining closed because of the floods, volunteers plan to distribute books, notebooks and other educational materials to affected students. In the longer term, trained Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) graduates will conduct community outreach and trauma-relief initiatives, including Nav Chetna programmes, to support families coping with the psychological impact of the disaster.