Guwahati: From children’s piggy banks to corporate cheques, donations and volunteers have bolstered relief and rehabilitation efforts in flood-hit Assam.The recovery is being powered by an unprecedented coalition of corporates, charities, religious institutions, celebrities, businesses and citizens as rehabilitation gathers pace.The CM’s Relief Fund received over Rs 16 crore from individuals, banks, PSUs, temple bodies and namghars till July 31. Social organisations, local businesses and volunteers have also supplied food, drinking water, medicines and clothes, besides helping families clear silt and mud from their homes.The Adani Group announced a Rs 11-crore assistance package, while Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita Ambani contributed Rs 21 crore to the fund for flood-affected families in upper Assam.JSW Group donated Rs 5 crore. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the donation was made without prior announcement and discovered during a review of the fund’s bank statements. He highlighted Sajjan Jindal’s connection to Assam through his mother, Savitri Jindal, who hails from the state.Sarma assured donors that contributions would be used judiciously and the fund managed transparently.Businessman and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal announced a Rs 100-crore Ajmal Foundation programme to build 10,000 low-cost houses and 10,000 toilets and distribute ‘mekhela sadors’ to 10 lakh flood-affected women.Ajmal said, “It is a long-term rehabilitation mission involving Rs 100 crore. We have already spent Rs 3 crore on relief and medicines so far.”Actor Randeep Hooda joined a two-day Global Sikhs relief drive in Sivasagar, distributing ration kits and other essentials. He also served meals at a community langar at Sivasagar railway station, where displaced families took shelter, and appealed for support for Assam’s recovery.Entrepreneur and philanthropist Ananya Birla led relief operations in Jorhat through the Ananya Birla Foundation. She met affected families and distributed food, safe drinking water and essential supplies.Global Sikhs has been supplying cooked meals, ration kits, drinking water and other relief materials across several affected districts.Sharing pictures of children donating their piggy bank savings, Sarma wrote on X: “The collective spirit of Assam is in full display. These are not just piggy banks which banks my young friends are sharing, but rather their contribution towards a strong #AssamFloodResponse.”He also thanked Physics Wallah’s Alakh Pandey “for stepping forward to help.”The govt disbursed interim relief of Rs 15,000 each to over 62,000 people through direct bank transfers. It said Rs 160 crore was credited to affected families.“Our effort is to place immediate liquidity in the hands of families so they can begin rebuilding without delay, while final compensation is determined through a comprehensive assessment,” Sarma wrote. Another Rs 10,000 will be released to severely affected families in Sivasagar and Charaideo in the next few days.
