Assam floods drain state economy

By IANS

Dhemaji (Assam) : From bringing untold miseries to millions to draining the economy, the devastating floods in Assam have made the state poorer and the losses are estimated to be enormous.


Support TwoCircles

“The loss caused is indeed very huge. We are in the process of assessing the actual damage in terms of money, but it would surely run into several million rupees,” Bhumidhar Barman, the Assam revenue, relief and rehabilitation minister, told IANS.

The nearly three weeks of flooding caused by the swirling waters of the great Asian river Brahmaputra have killed 35 people and displaced 6.7 million in 26 of Assam’s 27 districts, a government statement said Wednesday.

The situation has now improved with floodwaters receding, but an estimated 35 percent of those displaced are still sheltered in makeshift camps with their homes either washed away or filled with mud and slush.

“A total of 9,291 houses were totally damaged or washed away. The floods swept through a land area of 870,000 hectares,” the minister said.

The Assam government has already spent about Rs.200 million towards providing relief and shelter to the displaced in the past three weeks.

“In addition, the government is providing Rs.100,000 each to the families of those killed,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

The biggest loss is to the infrastructure and agriculture sectors.

“A total crop area of about 355,000 hectares has been damaged. Farmers who are dependent on agriculture are the worst sufferers,” Barman said.

More than 75 percent of Assam’s 26 million people are dependent on agriculture with rice, vegetables, jute and mustard being the major yields.

“We are doomed. We don’t have anything left. Survival now would be a challenge for us once the government stops providing us relief supplies,” said Dharani Pegu, a tribal farmer in Dhemaji district.

Dhemaji, 500 km east of Assam’s main city Guwahati, has been the worst hit.

“Thousands of families who survived on agriculture are now in real trouble with nothing left. We must work out something for these farmers,” Dhemaji district magistrate Diwakar Mishra said.

The floods have swept away close to 500 bridges, both made of timber and concrete, besides severing roads.

“Five major irrigation schemes have been damaged. Close to 11,000 drinking water supply facilities in villages have been destroyed,” an agriculture department official said.

Villagers are now pleading with the government to continue providing them with relief for some more weeks until they can again stand on their feet.

“We told (Congress president Sonia) Gandhi about our miseries and requested her to ensure that we are provided food and other relief materials for some more time as we don’t have anything left to survive,” Ronita Pegu, a mother of two in Dhemaji, said.

Gandhi, leader of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, visited Assam Tuesday for an on-the-spot assessment of the flood situation.

The 2,906 km long Brahmaputra is one of Asia’s largest rivers that traverse its first stretch of 1,625 km in China’s Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before converging into the Bay of Bengal.

Every year, floods in Assam leave a trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging fields, drowning livestock, killing people and cattle and destroying property. In 2004, more than 200 people were killed due to floods in the state.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE