Akhil Gogoi Doubles Down on Flood Response Criticism in Sivasagar

Guwahati: Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi stood by his sharp critiques of Cabinet minister Bimal Borah and Deputy Commissioner Mridul Yadav on Saturday, August 22. He blamed the pair for bungling the flood response in Upper Assam. The devastation is total. Gogoi stated that 17 of 27 panchayats in his district were destroyed, with others sustaining at least 50 percent damage.

Severe floods hit six of the 14 urban wards, some submerged at 95 percent capacity. "There are 51,949 families in my constituency, and nearly 80 per cent of them were affected by the floods," Gogoi said at his Guwahati home. He argued the state lacks basic disaster tools. Assam houses 3.5 crore people but keeps only 650 State Disaster Response Force personnel on staff.

Gogoi pushed for 40 rescue boats, but Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told him only 18 to 20 were available for the entire state. Locals did the heavy lifting. Residents carried out 90 percent of all rescue operations using wooden boats. Gogoi also faulted Demow MLA Susanta Borgohain, Sonari MLA Dhormeswar Konwar, and Nazira MLA Mayur Borgohain for the ongoing crisis. He noted, "Even after making these allegations, they have not been able to respond."