Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday began a tour of the state's worst flood-hit districts to review relief operations and oversee preparations for a comprehensive damage assessment, even as the overall flood situation continued to improve with the affected population falling to 1.78 lakh.
According to the latest bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 1.78 lakh people across 349 villages in seven districts remain affected by floods. The impacted districts include Charaideo, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Bajali, Dhemaji, Sonitpur and Jorhat. The flood death toll remained unchanged at 82, with no fresh fatalities reported during the past 24 hours.
Charaideo continues to be the worst-affected district, with 75,199 people impacted, followed by Sivasagar, where 58,824 people remain affected. The number of people affected has declined from nearly 1.92 lakh reported two days ago, indicating a gradual improvement in the flood situation.
Relief and rehabilitation operations are continuing across the affected areas. A total of 44 relief camps are currently sheltering around 15,000 displaced people, while 17 relief distribution centres are providing assistance to 5,569 others.
Floodwaters continue to affect agriculture, with around 15,060 hectares of cropland remaining submerged. The ASDMA said 1,543 animals have been washed away, while another 6,765 livestock continue to be affected.
Before leaving for the flood-hit districts, Sarma thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for extending support to Assam, including the approval of ₹379.35 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the deployment of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams to assess the damage.
In a social media post, the Chief Minister said he would visit the affected areas to meet residents, oversee ongoing relief efforts and lay the groundwork for a "foolproof assessment exercise" to ensure appropriate compensation for those affected.
A day earlier, Sarma chaired a virtual review meeting with deputy commissioners of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, the four worst-affected districts. Officials were directed to expedite the preparation of lists of affected families to facilitate the release of financial assistance from August 3, ensure uninterrupted distribution of relief materials and complete assessments of damaged schools before they reopen on August 10.
The Chief Minister's Office also announced that a statewide flood damage assessment will begin on August 9 to determine compensation and restoration requirements.
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