Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Former Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia is pushing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to approve a special Central rehabilitation package for flood victims in Upper Assam. The request covers Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat districts after record-breaking floods in July 2026. Saikia spent 15 days on the ground. He witnessed unprecedented destruction across his former Nazira constituency.
Many families lost everything. Assets like sewing machines, commercial vehicles, livestock, and shop inventories vanished in the deluge. Saikia emphasized the ongoing financial burden for residents. "The flood destroyed the assets, but it did not destroy the debts," he wrote. He is calling for a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment to track individual losses, ranging from damaged homes to ruined agricultural land. He wants occupation-specific grants to replace lost tools, rigs, and equipment.
The proposal includes direct financial intervention. Saikia wants the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, and NABARD to reschedule loans and stop coercive recovery tactics. He demands grants instead of new loans for the poorest households. Plans for land reclamation include clearing sand and silt from farms, alongside seed and fertilizer distribution. He also suggested deploying Territorial Army or specialized engineering units to clear debris and restore community infrastructure.
A multidisciplinary investigation must examine the Dikhow river system and other vulnerable waterways. Saikia wants hydrologists and geologists to study river morphology and embankment failures. He urged the government to avoid rushed, indiscriminate dredging. A village-wise public dashboard should track all aid and damage assessments to ensure total transparency. Saikia proposed a joint Centre-State mission with a six-month deadline to restore every family's livelihood.
Updated at 13th August 2026 at 9:46am
Beyond the immediate relief, Saikia is pushing for specific support systems for victims. He wants the government to provide educational assistance for children who lost books, certificates, or electronic devices in the high water. He also demanded special camps to speed up insurance payouts and a monthly subsistence payment for up to six months to keep families afloat while they piece their lives back together.
Saikia is also demanding a paper trail for the recovery. He called for an independent investigation into potential negligence or failure to act on government warnings. He wants this probe to look for any unauthorized activity that may have worsened the flood's impact on communities.
The push for federal help now includes the broader Assam Congress party. A delegation led by Pranjit Das recently told the Governor that the state lacks the resources to handle the disaster alone. They want the Centre to officially declare the state's recurring floods and erosion a national problem. The party notes that 40 percent of Assam is now flood-prone, a rate nearly four times the national average. With the official death toll climbing to 103, the party is demanding a high-level task force of scientists and officials to build a permanent master plan for the region's river systems.
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