Update, 05 August 2016
Assam State Disaster Management Agency (ASDMA) reported on 04 August that the flood situation in the state has improved considerably. The numbers affected is now 285,095 in 10 districts, with 18,708 currently in relief 62 camps.
The districts still affected are: Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Barpeta, Dhubri, Morigaon, Kokrajhar, Nagoan and Goalpara.
Original Report, 31 July 2016
The current wave of floods in Assam has now claimed 26 lives and affected 1.7 million people in the state. There are currently over 400 relief camps set up in the state, housing over 240,000 displaced by the flooding.
India’s Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, made an aerial tour of the floods, accompanied by Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday. He said:
“I had never imagined before coming here that the floods have wreaked such havoc in Assam”
“I had a detailed review of flood situation in Assam. The situation may be grim but state government is working on the ground. The Centre and state agencies are working hand in hand to make rescue and relief operations successful in flood affected areas of Assam. I also assured Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of every possible help from the Centre in mitigating the flood situation in Assam.”
He said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are working on the ground. The NDRF along with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army have saved more than 6,000 lives in Assam, he added.
According to local media, the Home Minister also called on government to find long-term solutions to tackle the recurring problem and expressed concern over embankments along the Brahmaputra and many of tributaries outliving their lifespan and efficacy to hold the fury of floods. “This issue (of embankments completing their lifespan) had come up during our discussions with the state government today,” the union home minister said.
There are around 700-km of embankments along the Brahmaputra River. Many were constructed in the 1950s, with a proposed lifespan of around 25 years.
MAHESWAR DEKA
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Assam has had floods for decades. Occurrence of waves of floods is noticed during the monsoon season roughly from the early part June to September of the year. There occur deaths of people, loss to properties and damages to the farmers’ crops.
The government of the state and of the country have not taken any appropriate measures to control the floods.The frequent occurrence of floods in Assam can mainly be attributed to wide variation in rainfall during the monsoon season and space and inadequate carrying capacity of the state’ rivers including mighty Brahmaputra. With floods, few other problems also arise-particularly,there occurs heavy land erosion resulting in loss of lands of the state.
Unless floods control measures are taken up by the government, occurrence of waves of floods in Assam will go on for ever. The raw deal by the central government has compounded the Assam floods problems – Assam alone can not bear the expenditure that is needed in the execution of flood control measures.
Richard Davies, FloodList
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Thank you for your comment and insights into the flood situation in Assam. Are there any specific flood control measures that have been proposed for Assam?