Sesa River Flash Floods Devastate Western Lakhimpur

Guwahati: A flash flood tore through western Lakhimpur on Wednesday. The Sesa River surged after intense rainfall hit the Dhalpur-Simaluguri area near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Water levels rose fast. The river spilled over its banks, damaging roads, culverts, and houses while destroying freshly transplanted paddy fields.

Floodwaters breached the Hawajan-Ghogorabasti PWD road near a railway crossing. This project is part of the Assam Mala scheme. A culvert on the Kamalpur-Sesa rural road also collapsed, cutting off local traffic. Villages hit hardest in the Narayanpur Revenue Circle include Phutabhog, Ranganajan, Naoghuli, Ruptoli, Nidansowa, and Khalihamari. Farmers lost their livelihoods as fields disappeared under heavy layers of silt and mud.

This marks the second major Sesa River flood in under a month. On June 19, the water breached both the Hawajan-Simaluguri and Dhalpur-Gohpur roads. Residents blame cloudbursts in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh for the recurring destruction. Locals believe that "possible cloudburst events in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh may be contributing to these flash floods." Fears persist that nearby rivers like the Pichola and Durpang could also flood, mirroring the recent disaster at the Panyor Hydroelectric Project on the Ranganadi River.