In Assam, floods are very common during monsoon. The impact this year is even grave. The flood left Assam and the people surprised in the riverine island of Majuli and the three waves of flood changed its character over the last 50 years especially in the Brahmaputra River.
The flood affected 21 lakh people — 62 people lost their lives until now, more than 2800 villages have been damaged across 29 districts and according to IMD the rain alerts are still in Assam.
At the time, only 39 thousand people were in relief camps, still more than 7 lakh people are surviving and managing their own embankments. No food, no water and no shelter have been provided for the people who are living on their own, left to survive somehow.
The victims raised questions on the way government is dealing with the situation. Student organizations like All Assam Students Union (AASU) and flood victims are blaming government officials for the breach of major embankments with low quality constructions, like one in Hatimara on Kolong river has been one of the biggest factors leading to floods at various places.
After the flood review in Kamrup district, the CM of Assam Hemant Biswa Sarma said “The devastating second wave of floods in the state were mainly due to the cloudburst in neighboring state Arunachal Pradesh, heavy rainfall in China, Bhutan and in the upper reaches of Arunachal Pradesh led to floods in Assam and this is “beyond our control”, until and unless there are huge quantity water reservoirs built by China at the border on their side of the border, we can’t help floods in Assam.”
The experts claim that due to global warming, the Himalayas have started melting slowly in Tibet, in which flood comes to Tibet, Bhutan, which adds ton the rising water level of the Brahmaputra River and other rivers too. When the flood comes to plain land it is more devastating than the mountain areas.
