Guwahati: The Assam govt on Wednesday told the assembly that the floods that have inundated parts of upper Assam were caused by an extraordinary natural calamity triggered by massive inflows of water from the hills of neighbouring Nagaland, arguing that the scale of the disaster was beyond the control of any govt machinery.Replying to concerns raised in the House, parliamentary affairs minister Pijush Hazarika said the floods were unlike the seasonal inundation that the state usually prepares for. He said rescue and relief operations were under way across the affected districts, but the administration was still unable to determine the exact number of missing persons as many areas remained inaccessible. He added that the full extent of the damage would be known only after the waters recede.“The matter is very sensitive and important. The sudden flash flood came down from the hills of Nagaland. I served as the water resources minister for five years. During those five years, except for the Sivasagar constituency, I had never witnessed such flooding in the Nazira, Mahmora, Charaideo, and Titabor constituencies. This was not the kind of natural flood that we usually prepare for,” Hazarika said. “Water has come rushing down from the hills and through channels where it had never flown before. What could the govt have done in such a situation?” he said.Hazarika said only three or four embankments under the water resources department had suffered breaches and insisted that these were not the principal reason behind the widespread flooding.“The real issue is that the water level rose three, four, and even five metres above the embankments. This flood is essentially a natural disaster of an unprecedented scale. Nobody was prepared for such an extreme event. I have said before that such flooding had not occurred in decades. How could anyone have been prepared for it?” he said.Hazarika compared the situation to floods in Goalpara district that followed a cloudburst in Meghalaya more than a decade ago. This time, however, he said the situation has been more prolonged.He said rescue operations were launched immediately, with three to four helicopters deployed from the next day to evacuate stranded residents from marooned areas. “Relief agencies have since been supplying food, drinking water and other essential items to affected people despite logistical challenges,” the minister said.Earlier in the day, leader of the opposition Wazed Ali Choudhury said he had written to speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass seeking permission to move an adjournment motion for an exclusive discussion on the prevailing flood situation in the assembly. The speaker, however, declined the request, saying although floods were a matter of serious concern, the House could not suspend its scheduled proceedings because the day’s business had already been finalised.
