Assam Floods: Opposition Seeks ₹10,000-Crore Central Assistance and National Status

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The opposition MLAs raised the demand for the declaration of floods in the state as a national problem in the Assembly today. The government, on the contrary, assured the house that it would provide all possible help to the people affected by floods.

Three opposition MLAs - Mazibur Rahman of the AIUDF, Sherman Ali Ahmed of the TMC, and Jakir Hussain Sikdar of Congress - raised the issue of Upper Assam floods during the zero hour in the state assembly. They demanded a fat special financial central package for the flood-affected people in the state.

Mazibur Rahman said, "We never saw such devastating floods in Assam. We must brainstorm solutions to effectively manage floods. The disaster management department has lapses that prevented it from tackling the situation promptly. The declaration of Assam's flood as a national problem has been a long-pending one. The previous Congress government and the BJP governments both neglected this demand. The state government needs to seek a special central package for the flood-hit people of the state."

Sherman Ali Ahmed said, "The flood that has ravaged Upper Assam this year looked like a tsunami. With the floodwaters receding, bodies of people keep coming out from the layers of silt. The government has failed to tackle the situation. The training of officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) squeezes the state exchequer of crores of rupees. Where are those officials now? There should be an inquiry into the functioning of the ASDMA to ascertain if they misused funds. The central government should announce at least a package of Rs 10,000 crore for the flood-affected people of Assam."

Jakir Hussain Sikdar quoted the people of Upper Assam, saying that they had never seen such a devastating deluge in the past. He said, "The state government and the centre have the responsibility to provide succour to flood victims, poor and rich alike. If the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister pay visits to Assam during floods, we will be a happy lot. The state government should take all initiatives to make the centre declare the Assam flood a national problem. The flash flood this year needs a detailed study, apart from taking a special financial package from the central government."

Replying to the opposition MLAs, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said that the government would extend all help it could for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people in the state. The minister said, "The floods were unprecedented in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat districts. This initiative is the first of its kinds in Upper Assam. The government constructed several embankments, and it has to construct around 130 km of them. It will construct them in this term. The floods claimed 68 human lives so far, and eight have been missing. Since the floods began, the government has been working in the field, day in and day out. With the flow of water from the hills at 3 pm, the chief minister sent three ministers to Upper Assam. Even the chief minister himself spent two days in the flood-hit areas and monitored the situation. All MLAs have been actively engaged in their respective LACs, working tirelessly. I assure the Assembly that the government will rescue the people at the time of their adversity and extend all assistance as far as possible for their rehabilitation."

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