When the BJP Prime Minister proudly announced that India would be celebrating Amrit Mahotsav on the 75th year of independence, the state of Assam ruled by the BJP is ravaged by devastating flood. Official figure of loss of life is 159. But the actual figure would be much more. The situation continues to be grim with acute shortage of food and drinking water shortage and colossal loss of property. Scores of houses are completely inundated in these villages, with the flood waters flowing almost above the thatched roofs. Over 76,115 hectares of crop areas across the affected districts. Moreover, over 10.39 lakh domestic animals and poultry have been affected in the deluge across 13 districts.The districts which are still reeling under the flood waters are Bajali, Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri. Of these, Cachar continued to be the worst-hit district with nearly 14.32 lakh people being affected, followed by Nagaon where nearly 5.20 lakh people are suffering, and over four lakh people being hit in Barpeta.
The flood-hit victims are passing through the darkest period of their lives. Over 3.05 lakh people are forced to stay in as many as 3317 relief camps across 22 districts, after being rendered homeless, as their houses remain submerged for more than a fortnight now. Thousands of flood-affected people of Morigaon district have been taking shelter on National Highway 37. The highway has become their shelter homes now as this is the second time in less than three months that they have been forced to stay in the makeshift camps on the highway, after the flood waters have totally submerged their houses.
The Assam floods got the front-page coverage of the international section of The New York Times on 17 June. But the equation stands different from the Indian mainstream media. Instead of drawing attention to the imperativeness of reaching relief material to the flood-affected, arrange for proper shelter and food for them, provide adequate compensation of the loss they suffered, the media focus was on a 5-star hotel in Guwahati where 50-odd rebel Shiv Sena MLAs from Maharashtra were receiving royal treatment from the BJP chief minister and his other colleagues in exchange for their switching to the BJP fold and topple the Maharashtra coalition government. What could be crueller when one finds that the state is reeling under flood but the ministers and officials are busy giving bites on TV in regard to horse-trading of Shiv Sena MLAs. Admitting that the flood in Barak valley is man-made, the BJP chief minister instead of owning the responsibility passed on the onus on some ‘miscreants’ who allegedly broke Barak River embankment at Bethukandi. No amount of reprehension is enough for such irresponsible and inhuman comments. When the BJP Prime Minister is talking of $5 trillion economy, Bullet Train, voyage to the Mars, digital India and so forth, people are dying like cats and dogs because rudimentary flood-control devices are notin place.
The volunteers of the SUCI(C) and its class as well as mass organizations are whole heartedly engaged in relief and rescue activities. Comrade Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C), has made a fervent appeal to the people to come forward and liberally contribute to the Assam flood relief fund.
Assam devastated by man-made flood in PM’s Amrit Mahotsav
