Upper Assam in Ruins After Flash Floods, Survivors Restart Life From Scratch

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Amidst the devastation caused by the recent flash floods in the Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat districts, the agony of the people has not ceased. The situation has come to such a pass that the families of many who perished cannot find dry land on their premises to conduct the traditional rituals.

The kin of the four-member family that went missing in the floods in Nazira, of which three bodies were later recovered, now don’t have words to express their grief. The elder brother of the deceased head of that family said, “My sister-in-law, two nephews and niece went missing in the floods that devastated our area. The bodies of my nephews and niece were recovered later, but we couldn’t find the body of my sister-in-law. The day the flash flood occurred, they scampered out of their house to escape the sudden onrush of floodwaters, but they were washed away by the swift current. The three bodies were found stuck in some bushes and trees. The house is still swamped by water and mud, and we haven’t been able to venture inside. We’re now living in a makeshift shelter on the road. I don’t have the energy to say anything more.”

A pathetic situation was witnessed in Gormur Tipomia Gaon near Nazira, where family members of a person who died in the floods couldn’t find dry land on their premises to conduct his post-death rituals. A family member of the victim said, “Today is the ‘tiloni’ (third-day ritual) for my deceased brother. He came out of his home to escape the rapidly rising waters. He knew how to swim but was somewhat physically weak, and he drowned in the floodwaters. Today we invited a few priests and conducted the rituals on the road for the salvation of his soul. It was really heart-breaking.”

Meanwhile, the Rajgarh area of Nazira is totally devastated, with the houses in the village with everything inside and the farmland, livestock, etc., destroyed. A female resident of the area said, “I had saved money from doing daily housework for people and bought a scooty with the money for my son so that he could attend college. The water came all of a sudden, and we couldn’t save anything in the house or the scooty, only our lives. Now we have to start our lives afresh from scratch.”

Another lady of that area described her predicament, saying, “Within 15 minutes, the water level rose chest-high. We barely escaped with our lives. Everything is destroyed. There is nothing left inside our house to go back to. Now, we’re surviving on the road. People are helping us by providing food, water, etc. I’m a daily wage worker, and I request the government to provide us with enough financial aid for us to buy at least a bed and a few other necessities. I had planted paddy in a two-katha plot, which is now destroyed.”

An ITI-passed female student of the same area said, “I had passed ITI and am doing my BA now. The floodwaters rushed into our house so suddenly that I couldn’t save my certificates. My younger sister will appear in HSLC this time, and her registration certificate was also washed away. There is still stagnant water in our house, and we cannot go inside it.”

The Sri Sri Khatpar Satra, known for traditional mask-making in the Sivasagar district, is also severely damaged, and many of the masks have been destroyed by floodwaters. Padma Shri Rebakanta Mahanta, the xatradhikar, had dedicated his life to mask-making. The situation is such that his disciples have not revealed the extent of the damage to him, as they feel he will be deeply hurt to know that his life’s work has been destroyed. The Deka Xatradhikar of the xatra said, “We are sad that we couldn’t save the masks from the floods. Around 100 masks have been damaged. The situation came to such a point that it was either us or the masks. We’ll now dedicate ourselves to restoration of the masks, to the extent possible.”

Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) visited the Charaideo district and assessed the damage. The team will also visit the other flood-affected districts.

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