FERSF of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia demands amendment in National Disaster Act, 2005

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA: The Flood Erosion Resistance Struggle Forum (FERSF), Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts have condemned the speech of Minister Ratan Lal Kataria in the Rajya Sabha on July 2 wherein he stated that there was no provision of declaring Assam’s flood and riverbank erosion as a national disaster in the National Disaster Act, 2005.

Deeply anguished, Binod Kedia, president of FERSF, stated in a press release that as per report, 7 per cent of total land of Assam had been washed away by erosion till 2012 and lakhs of people became homeless every year. The Central Government has not taken any interest to solve the burning issue of Assam. The Centre has not released a single rupee to Assam after 2012 for any new project under Flood Management Programme, the FERSF alleged. As per report, the Central Government will not disperse any fund to Assam up to 2020 because of paucity of fund in the budget for new project although before the 2014 election, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and present Union Minister Rameswar Teli had given written assurance to FERSF that flood and river bank erosion would be declared as national disaster within one year.

In the wake of the Union Minister’s statement, the FERSF wants an amendment be brought in the National Disaster Act of 2005 in order to bring Assam’s flood scenario within its ambit and has sought direct intervention of the Prime Minister instead of passing the buck to other non-concerned departments as done recently by the PMO office while responding to a letter sent on May 29, 2019, stated the press release.

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