Reader TTS

Year after year, as monsoon rains lash Assam, vast areas of land disappear under water, houses crumble, crops are destroyed, and lives are lost.

Year after year, as monsoon rains lash Assam, vast areas of land disappear under water, houses crumble, crops are destroyed, and lives are lost.

Yet the devastating floods that have become a predictable annual tragedy in the state remain curiously unacknowledged as a “national problem” by the central government — a demand that has

echoed across successive state governments for decades but has repeatedly fallen on deaf ears.

Despite a renewed focus on infrastructural development in the North East in recent years, Assam’s floods continue to be treated as an isolated seasonal issue, rather than a recurring

national disaster.

This disregard has left millions vulnerable and pushed the state’s economy into a vicious cycle of recovery and relapse.

The numbers speak for themselves. On average, Assam loses over Rs 200 crore each year due to floods.

The devastation in 2022 alone cost the state nearly Rs 5,000 crore, as paddy fields were submerged, roads and bridges were washed away, and homes were left in ruins.

Approximately 9.3 lakh hectares of land are affected annually, and hundreds of villages are rendered inaccessible.

In 2022, one of the worst flood years in recent times, about 25 per cent of Assam’s rice-growing area was destroyed, and over 20,000 livestock perished.

More than four lakh homes were damaged in the last five financial years due to floods.

Embankments — the last line of defence for many riverine communities — were breached at over 400 locations in 2022, highlighting the urgent need for durable flood control infrastructure.

But even here, little has changed. Temporary earthen embankments continue to be repaired and rebuilt, often by the same contractors, feeding what many describe as a “flood economy” that

thrives on disaster rather than prevention.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers have assured support and monitored the situation, the absence of flood-specific allocations under the National Disaster Response Fund

(NDRF) for many years has drawn criticism from experts and citizens alike.

Assam’s pleas for special recognition have repeatedly run into bureaucratic hurdles. The Centre has, so far, refused to officially declare floods in Assam as a national calamity — a status

that would unlock additional resources, long-term planning, and dedicated funding.

Floods in Assam are often seen as a normal phenomenon due to their frequency, and that perception itself has proved to be a barrier to policy change.

Officials say the lack of robust forecasting and integrated river basin management further complicates mitigation efforts.

“It’s not just water that we battle. It’s indifference,” said a retired irrigation department engineer in Guwahati who does not wish to be named.

Experts have recommended shifting from temporary flood-fighting measures to sustainable, long-term solutions, including the construction of rockfill embankments, community-led disaster

management, and comprehensive river interlinking projects.

However, without national recognition of the issue, the political will and financial resources to implement these measures remain elusive.