Assam to address flood causes after relief, rehab

While the Congress insists that sand and coal mining along the Assam-Nagaland border led to flooding in less flood-prone districts, the Assam government does not want to get into a debate and has assured it will discuss what caused the disaster only after relief and rehab measures.

Four districts of Assam along the Nagaland border faced catastrophic floods. These Upper Assam districts - Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat - are not known for such extensive flooding.

Congress said illegal sand mining in the Dikhow River, illegal coal mining along the Assam-Nagaland border and a thriving syndicate protected by those in power caused the flooding in these areas. Congress called it a man-made tragedy enabled by inaction and absolute impunity.


Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has been consistently raising the issue of illegal sand mining and illegal coal mining.

Assam CM Himanta Sarma said experts are examining the causes behind the floods, but the government is prioritising relief measures. As a section of leaders wants to fix accountability on Nagaland for the flooding, Sarma opposed it at this stage.

"It would be inappropriate to discuss accountability or the causes of the floods at a time when Nagaland itself is grappling with the aftermath of the disaster," he said.

Around 1.92 lakh people in the state still remain affected, while the death toll in the current wave of floods stood at 82.