Impossible to end floods in Assam, laments Minister Pijush Hazarika

GUWAHATI: Pijush Hazarika, Assam’s Minister for Water resources and Public Relations on Thursday said that the floods in Assam are never ending as “because of the geographical location and constant rain in the monsoon, it is impossible to terminate the flood in Assam.”

“We are particularly concerned about the floods in Assam. We have made every effort to give long-term solutions. I'm a water resources minister. However, I am not up to date on Guwahati-city data, but we are working very hard to solve the problem. We did some work last year in Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Morigaon to overlook the periodic flood. Though we have made progress in several areas, we will not discuss it now,” he said.

Nagaon's Barhampur constituency or Hojai had never witnessed floods of this magnitude before and owing to the unusually heavy rain, new places have been flooded. Hazarika said that the Assam government is undoubtedly working on this.

Because of its geographical location and constant rain, it has proven very tough to terminate the flood in Assam. Every year, barely 1700 MM of rain falls in Dima Hasao, yet this year, up to 27 mm of rain has fallen. The Dima-Hasao railway station was devastated after 1,000 mm of rain fell in the area on one day.

The Minister further indicated that the government is taking all necessary steps to resolve the problem and vowed to assist those affected in every way possible.

According to an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, over 18 districts in 37 revenue circles of the state are still reeling under flood waters.

Around 74,116 people in 314 villages are still affected by the floods, as per the ASDMA report. On the other hand, a total of seven relief camps have been set up across the state where around 1,224 inmates are currently taking shelter.