Assam Floods: Tragedy Claims 66 Lives, Over 6.5 Lakh People Affected | Himanta Biswa Sarma

[00:02] ? You might not have seen this line anywhere and if you have seen it by mistake, you might have and if you have seen it by mistake, you might have scrolled it. But today I want to stop you on this line because this line is not a lie. But unfortunately that is

[00:15] this line is not a lie. But unfortunately that is not true either. 68 is the maximum number one has been able to reach. Because the Chief Minister himself is saying that the government has not reached out to about 80,000 people. And where no one reaches, there is no counting. Now those who

[00:29] survived say that it was only 15 minutes. In 15 minutes, we had to decide what to pick up, whom to pick up and where to run. At many places the water level rose above 10 metres. That At many places the water level rose above 10 metres. That means, the people of the multi-storey villages where this happened had

[00:42] never seen a flood before in their lives. And I am not saying this. The Chief Minister is saying all this and this place is not very far. Perhaps the distance from Delhi to North East is sometimes too much. We forget that Shivsagar is also ours, Jorahad is also ours, Charaideo is

[00:57] also ours. And today they are drowning in water. We are getting cut off from the rest of the country and when any area gets cut off, unfortunately its news also gets cut off. And that is why today I am asking you a question that how many times have you heard the name of Assam in the last 15, 20, 25 days

[01:10] ? How many times was this debated on prime time ? How many times did you argue? Whereas 68 people have died. According to government data

[01:38] I am asking this question to myself because Assam we will talk about it, today we will talk about it, we will question the government because the government said that

[01:50] Nagaland experienced a cloudburst. Now cloud burst is such a magical word that as soon as this word comes, all the responsibilities fall on nature. Case closed on Sky. But

[02:02] when the Meteorological Department said that the cloud did not burst and also said that so much rain is not a new thing here and also said that so much rain is not a new thing here and this devastation cannot be explained by rain alone. Then the question arises that when the government's own department is saying this, then should

[02:17] so much devastation have happened in Assam ? And if this devastation happened then why was the news from Assam missing? If the sky did not do this then who took away

[02:29] If the sky did not do this then who took away so many people from Assam? This is a very important question and today we will talk about this question. Hello, I am Shubhankar Mishra. Many years ago, during the Covid period, I went to Assam to cover the Assam floods. The

[02:43] Covid period, I went to Assam to cover the Assam floods. The conditions then were very painful. But unfortunately, even after so many years, the situation remains the same. So today I will ask three questions. First, if rain is not the entire reason, then what are the other reasons?

[02:57] Who made that? Secondly, how much preparation has been done in the last 70 years in a place where floods occur every year ? Where did the money go? And thirdly, is there a cure for floods in Assam or is there none? This

[03:10] is a very important question and today we will ask questions to the government and the system very boldly on these three questions. we will ask questions to the government and the system very boldly on these three questions.

[03:22] Before that, we request the people of Assam and the people of the country to stand by you and will continue to highlight your every news strongly. You join us.

[03:34] Subscribe to our channel and if possible, join my WhatsApp channel also. We have put the link in the description. Now the question is what is happening in Assam? So 7 lakh people are affected by floods in Assam. And this figure of 7 lakh will not be understood after hearing it

[03:50] because the number is very big. Understand it this way, in the worst times, about 3.5 lakh people were in water in Shivsagar alone. Nearly one and a quarter lakh people were in water in Sharaidev. The entire district was sitting in water. Along with this, 56,000 hectares of crops were submerged. 4.5

[04:06] lakh animals were affected and in Assam, cattle are not just animals, they are the last savings of the farmers. But let the figures remain. Let me tell you the story of a house. On the evening of July 21, around 7:00 pm, water entered the house of Rohini Dubra in Lakwa Abhaypuri village of Charaideo. The

[04:21] family starts running towards higher ground. But the edge is so sharp that there is no chance to recover. First of all Tatni and daughter Vidisha get swept away. Tatni and daughter Vidisha get swept away. Both sons Vidyut and Viplav

[04:35] jump into the water to save their mother and sister but the current sweeps them away too. Within a few minutes, four people from a house are submerged in water. And the biggest thing is that the family says that they called the government helpline at that time but did not get any response.

[04:49] By the time the team arrived, time had passed. This allegation is from the villagers. No court decision. But the allegation is so serious that an investigation should be conducted. Now while listening to our news for you, these could be four numbers in 68. But for him, it was his mother. She was a daughter. Both were

[05:06] sons and listen to the story of the one who survived. The government report says that government report says that currently 2157 children are living under tarpaulin in relief camps in Assam. There are 187 women who are pregnant or have just given

[05:22] birth. I am not saying that I should not have been in the camp. A camp is better than a submerged house. My second question is how many Asha ANMs are deployed in those camps? This figure is nowhere to be found and responsibility for what is not counted is not taken. Now the question is

[05:40] whether the Assam government lied earlier about the flood? Because the Assam government had earlier said that Nagaland experienced a cloudburst. But cloud burst is not a matter of the mind, it is its measurement. Cloud burst is when more than 100 mm of water

[05:55] falls in an hour. And what happened there? Mon district of Nagaland received 137 ml of rainfall on July 19. That too in 8 to 9 hours. That means what was told did not happen. And after a few days the Chief Minister himself admitted that yes the cloud did not burst. The rain was

[06:12] like a cloudburst. Now, honestly, it is true. It has rained a lot there. According to the Chief Minister, three districts of Nagaland and Charai Dev in Assam received four times more rainfall than on normal days. This is not a trivial matter and I will not hide it.

[06:27] But did you understand the line on which this entire video is based and this is not mine, the scientist of the Meteorological Department has is based and this is not mine, the scientist of the Meteorological Department has said that so much rain is not a unique thing for the North East. This has happened there before. Therefore,

[06:40] these floods cannot be explained by rain alone. Especially where water is filled for the first time. You listen again. The opposition is not saying this. This government's own weather department is saying that you cannot hold rain alone responsible. And here I would like to clarify one more thing

[06:55] that it is not that the government did not do any work. The government has deployed the army and the relief, there is preparation. But these are two different things. Relief means is preparation. But these are two different things. Relief means pouring water after a fire. Preparation means

[07:09] keeping a bucket full before the fire starts. And I am not saying that the bucket was empty, the I am not saying that the bucket was empty, the bucket was full. It was filled to the size of last year's flood. There was bucket was full. It was filled to the size of last year's flood. There was

[07:23] Now a question should come to the mind of common people that why does flood occur every year in Assam ? Because when I went to Assam in 2019, there was flood there too. Even then I was doing stories. Assam is sinking. Even today Assam is sinking. And to understand this you will have to

[07:38] understand Assam. The valley of Assam is like a plate. There are mountains on three sides. There is a field in the middle. Whatever rains on the mountain will flow into this plate. This means that floods are not a secret there and if it is certain then the question is why so many lives are lost every year?

[07:54] If everyone knows that there will be floods in Assam every year. The governments have already given the answer to this on paper. In Assam, embankments, or earthen walls, were adopted for a short period in 1954 because they were quick to build and cheap. This is written on the pages of the Water Resources Department.

[08:09] But even after 70 years, the same makeshift solutions are the main solutions in Assam. That means we accepted the bandage as a treatment and I am not saying this no matter how bad the situation was.

[08:21] Assam's Water Resources Minister Sushant ji is saying that he himself is saying in the Assembly that about 4800 km of Assam. 3000 km of embankments. The water retention capacity has been lost. That means, even before the flood, the government had marked about 2 km out of every three on its papers. The

[08:37] wall was weak. This has to be believed. And in this increased flood, embankments were breached at 18 places between April and July. in this increased flood, embankments were breached at 18 places between April and July.

[08:51] what is the government's response? Minister Pijush Hazarika said in the Assembly that most of the embankments remained intact. The water came from four meters above the wall. So the question arises that if the water was to come over the wall, then why did we keep building the wall for 70 years? And one more thing that

[09:06] most people don't know. This wall cannot stop the water from coming from the village. But once the water gets in, it definitely doesn't let it go back. Water comes in a day and recedes in weeks. The wall which was supposed to be a shield does not become a shield but a fence.

[09:21] But blaming only the wall is also half the truth. There are two more things. The first roads were made higher and in many places small culverts were built in place of bridges. What was the result? The old water route is closed. That means, what we were considering as the road to development, at some places

[09:36] became another dam. And the Chief Minister himself has also accepted this. The second bill means the marshy land which used to absorb the flood water. In 2001, the water of Shivsagar

[09:48] spread over about 19 square km in Dehing area. In 2021, only six of the lands that used to drink water no longer do so, and that water now goes to the village. So look at the whole picture. There is a weak wall

[10:01] , a closed path, a dried up sponge, and on top of that, four times the rain. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say four times the rain. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that this disaster has not been created by the sky alone. Now someone will say that you are

[10:14] adding a new incident to an old complaint. Brother, 3000 km. The government did not accept the fact that the wall was weak after this flood. I had agreed earlier. This is not flood cleanup. This is a confession from before that. Now the question is that when there is flood in Assam every year,

[10:30] then where does the money spent in the name of flood go? Because people are dying. Flood damage is occurring every year. So let us understand the answer to this from the government only. The government had replied in the Assembly that only 16 km would be constructed in 2023-24. Rs

[10:46] 67 crore was spent on the embankment work. That means about ₹4 crore for 1 km. Of. Now I will not saying that ₹4 crore is a scam in itself. It may be money for land

[10:59] , money for stone to prevent erosion. My question is not that the amount is too much. My suggestion is what is included in this Rs 4 crore ? Why has its complete list not been revealed till date? The day that list comes, this question will die automatically and until it

[11:13] comes, this question will remain alive. And this is not the case for just one year. not the case for just one year. Between 2021 and 2024, more than Rs 3400 crore has been spent on 637 projects. Now you catch the rhythm. Every year the water comes, every year the wall breaks

[11:27] and every year the money is lost and every year we are shocked. And it's not just suspicion. In 2004, a video of substandard material being used in the repair of an embankment in Shivsagar also surfaced. Six employees of the department were suspended after an investigation was conducted. That means once it is accepted, there is a

[11:42] mistake. So the simple question is how many investigations were conducted after this flood? How many FIRs were filed ? How many contractors were blacklisted? And this question should be asked from Delhi as much as from Dispur because it also involves central government money. Now the question is that there is

[11:56] flood in Assam every year, people die every year, is there any cure for it or is it a disease that has been going on for 70 years ? So see, there is a cure for this disease of Assam. And this is the biggest thing. Take the example of our own country. Osa experiences hurricanes every year. Just like the

[12:12] floods in Assam every year. In 1999, a terrible storm hit there. About 10,000 people were killed. But what Orissa did after that, Assam has not been able to do till date. The country 's first separate institution for disaster was created. Hundreds of permanent shelters were built where people

[12:27] could go and sit in advance. Arrangements were made to convey warnings through sirens and messages and teams of people were formed in every village. What was the result? Millions of people were evacuated in advance of the next major storms. The death

[12:40] toll dropped from thousands to 10, 15, 20. Now the thing to understand is that the storms did not stop coming but people stopped dying. Yes, here I myself accept one thing that the Orissa method worked because there the danger comes at a fixed place.

[12:55] Build a shelter on the seaside strip. Job done. The whole point of the flood is that the water went where it never went before. The minister himself said in the Assembly that Nazira, Charai Dev and Titabar had never seen such floods before. So

[13:11] who would think of building a shelter where there has never been a flood? That means Odisha has proved that the known danger can be handled and this flood in Assam is proving that the danger map of Assam has become outdated which shows that now there is a need to make a new plan for Assam

[13:26] so that the number of deaths every year can be minimized and this is the job of the government. It is not our job, it is our job to make the government aware about this thing.

[13:40] relief to hear this. But honestly, this is the scariest twist. Because wherever the water level goes down, the news starts dying from there. The camera starts moving away. The But what is seen after the water recedes is even more scary. In the villages of Shivsagar,

[13:56] such a layer of sand has accumulated on the fields that farming there is almost impossible. This farming there is almost impossible. This is the same Shivsagar. Land of Lachit Barphukan. We take his name once a year. The remaining 364 days are dealt with in one word by calling their land North East.

[14:09] So the question is what is the demand then? Just three demands. Stop considering the first embankment as a cure. Bring roads and bills into the same debate. Secondly, the

[14:21] complete list of crores of rupees spent every year should be pasted on the doors of every village. And the third, most important, new map of danger. The areas that are submerged for the first time should now be considered flood-prone areas and there should also be permanent shelters and advance warnings. This is

[14:35] not a dream. It happened in Orissa. I myself am embarrassed that I am talking about this topic after so many days. embarrassed that I am talking about this topic after so many days. Every year the government comes to extinguish the fire and every year there is applause. But the bucket is still small. Before I go,

[14:48] I will say one more thing. I told you at the beginning that if the sky didn't do it, someone did. Now you have heard the whole thing. Weak wall, closed road, dry spot and outdated map, then you have the answer. Secondly, the death

[15:03] toll of 68 is not the final figure. As we said, the Chief Minister himself said that people have not reached many areas. That is 68, not counting those who have died. 68 is the count till where no one has reached. Who will do the next count? And will that day

[15:18] Who will do the next count? And will that day come when there will be floods in Assam but not the lives of the people? We think you should raise this question as well. We appeal to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to

[15:34] implement the suggestions we have given and take more concrete steps to save lives in his state Assam in the coming years. Before Join our channel. If you have not joined yet, please

[15:47] join us on WhatsApp channel also. We have put the link in the comment section in the description. put the link in the comment section in the description. Jai Bharat Jai Assam.