Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi is calling out the state government. He wants to know why Assam’s flood warning system crashed during July's flash floods despite federal support. The Department of Space confirmed on August 5 that ISRO provides near real-time monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin. Satellite maps reach the Assam State Disaster Management Authority within five to six hours of data capture. The agency used data from the EOS-04, Resourcesat-2/2A, Cartosat-2E, and Cartosat-3 satellites to feed the Bhuvan platform and the National Database for Emergency Management.
ISRO delivered 45 flood maps during the 2025 monsoon season. Another 33 products went to the ASDMA by July 28 this year. Officials claim they now use semi-automated workflows and high-resolution imagery for district-level damage reports. The tech is there. The warnings are not.
Gogoi highlighted a massive gap in local response. "The Government has confirmed, in response to my question, that ISRO provides near-real-time flood monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin, with flood data reaching ASDMA within 5-6 hours. Yet, the District Commissioner of Sivasagar has stated that the district had barely three hours to respond to the flash floods of July 19, with no prior warning issued."
The devastation in Upper Assam is total. Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, and Charaideo took the brunt of the July 19 disaster. Thousands of homes sit in ruins. Crops are gone. Livestock perished in the rising water. Schools, roads, bridges, and embankments remain washed away or unusable. Seventy-five people are confirmed dead, with others still missing.
Gogoi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 30, pleading for a special relief and rehabilitation package. The PMO acknowledged the letter on August 3. The MP is pushing for money to rebuild livelihoods, fix schools, and restore vital connectivity for cut-off villages. Families are desperate. The state needs immediate cash to restart local economies and clear the wreckage.
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