Assam Floods: 254 Schools in Upper Assam Yet to Reopen

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: As many as 254 schools in the four flood-ravaged Upper Assam districts are yet to resume their classes after the summer vacation. The state government is considering reopening all schools in the four districts by August 15.

This situation highlights the significant impact of floods on the education sector in the region. Floods severely damaged the infrastructure of many schools, and layers of silt covered their campuses. However, some schools in the four districts have resumed their classes.

Speaking to the media today, Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu said, "We're trying our best to bring normalcy back in the schools in the flood-affected districts so as to resume classes as soon as possible. The summer vacation was extended for the schools that received a blow in the recent floods. Some of the schools reopened yesterday, but not all. The Sivasagar district has a total of 1,222 schools, and 1,068 of them reopened yesterday. However, 154 schools are yet to be reopened. The Charaideo district has 741 schools, and 739 of them were reopened yesterday, barring two. The summer vacation was extended for 125 schools in the Jorhat district due to floods. Of them, 59 schools resumed classes yesterday, leaving 66 others. The Gologhat district has been witnessing the surge of waters for the past two days. Thirty-two schools in the district are still to be reopened."

Dr Pegu said, "Even if schools have no water, their approach roads got damaged by the flood and vice versa, creating problems in reopening the schools. Some schools are still under water and silt. Minister Bimal Borah has been monitoring the pumping out of stagnant waters and the arduous job of de-silting in the Upper Assam districts. We're trying our best to reopen all schools by August 15."

Some schools in the Upper Assam districts continue to serve as relief camps, providing shelter to flood-affected individuals.

The floods damaged a total of 793 schools in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts. The state government has already released Rs 2 lakh for each of these schools from the SDRF (State Disaster Response Fund). 

The flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that as of today, 441 villages in seven districts of the state are still under water. The districts are Golaghat, Sivasagar, Hojai, Jorhat, Darrang, Lakhimpur and Nagaon. The death toll in this flood season in the state is 101 so far.

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