Guwahati: Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi led thousands of residents in a mass protest at the Boarding Playground on Tuesday, August 25. The crowd demanded the Assam government immediately pay out the Rs 15,000 in promised relief to families hit by floods 48 days ago. The Dikhow River triggered the disaster after water rushed downstream from Nagaland, damaging property across the Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat districts.
Protesters accused the Sivasagar district administration of failing to deliver the cash. Families remain stuck without support as they try to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. Gogoi slammed the government for the slow pace of the recovery effort. "It is sad to learn that 48 days have passed yet, the one-time flood relief has not reached the victims of Assam floods yet. We cannot tolerate this, hence today we are organising a mass protest," Gogoi told India Today.
Gogoi demanded the payout increase to Rs 10 lakh for every affected family. He warned the government that if they continue to ignore the residents, he will march the victims to Guwahati to camp outside the Chief Minister's office. The demonstration highlights the breakdown in local aid distribution. Thousands wait for money that has yet to arrive.
Updated at 25th August 2026 at 9:50pm
Gogoi issued a strict 48-hour deadline for the government to clear the pending aid. He ripped into the state's definition of emergency relief, pointing out that true emergency funds should hit bank accounts within 48 hours, not weeks later. He warned that if the cash does not land by the end of his deadline, he will lead the protesters to surround the Chief Minister's office.
The MLA also exposed specific compensation tiers that the government had previously touted, including Rs 1.2 lakh for town dwellers, Rs 1.7 lakh for rural households, and up to Rs 3.85 lakh for those whose homes were totally leveled. He dismissed these figures as peanuts compared to the massive financial ruin families now face.
Beyond the immediate payments, Gogoi demanded a CBI investigation into the root of the disaster. He accused illegal coal, sand, and stone syndicates of fueling the flood, insisting that the government answer for the illicit mining operations that left thousands of lives at risk.
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