Assam Ground Report: Lack of Govt Aid Common Theme Across all Flooded Areas

Guwahati: In a situation of a chronic disaster and seemingly unending sufferings of people—what is expected is timely relief, adequate compensation and early preparedness. Looking at this from Assam's perspective, it shows a grim picture. Every year, lakhs of people get affected by floods in the state, bearing heavy losses and deaths.

But even after years, people in Assam see no respite; instead, what they witness is even more alarming—the flood’s character is changing, partly due to climate change and some recent projects. Till now, there seems to be no organised mechanism for early evacuation of the vulnerable, let alone adequate compensation.

The only viable mechanism in place is the collective efforts of the people; they constantly monitor the rivers passing by their villages, try to resist them by protecting the embankments, and when they fail, help one another to flee to some safe places and arrange the tents. Only after the affected people shelter them do government agencies and ministers/MLAs come into action. Only a few get the compensation, and even that is insufficient.

NewsClick visited a few places in the Bajali district (now Barpeta) to take stock of the plight of the affected people. In our first part, we described the situation in Bhawanipur and nearby areas flooded by the Pahumara River, which can be found here.

River ‘Kaldia’ Floods Again

A few kilometres from Bhawanipur are the Patacharkuchi and Pathsala areas, which were inundated by the river Kaldia, which flows through Bhutan before coming to Assam. Kaldia has been causing devastation in Patacharkuchi and Pathsala for years.

NewsClick was at Patacharkuchi on June 23 and visited two of the makeshift relief camps set out by the villagers where the sudden gush of flood water gave no time to them to rescue their belongings. The ‘Somuhiya Griha’ (community hall) of the village panchayat became their immediate shelter, where over 170 people were living in cramped spaces. Some of the affected people had only two pairs of clothes, and they didn’t know how many days they had to spend there. Some even didn’t know what remains in their houses.

The room of the panchayat house where at least 20 people stay day and night.

People in the shelter house apprised NewsClick about their situation since June 19. Dalimi Barman of Chakla village is struggling with her seven-month-old baby. She fears her baby may get seriously ill in the camp.

"Most of the time, there is no electricity. Mosquitoes and other insects create real problems. The first night was spent without even a candle," Dalimi Barman told NewsClick. Her husband and other family members are all staying in the camp.

In one corner, in the panchayat house, they light their stoves to prepare khichdi, their primary supper. 

People in the shelter house apprised NewsClick about their situation since June 19. Dalimi Barman of Chakla village is struggling with her seven-month-old baby. She fears her baby may get seriously ill in the camp.

"Most of the time, there is no electricity. Mosquitoes and other insects create real problems. The first night was spent without even a candle," Dalimi Barman told NewsClick. Her husband and other family members are all staying in the camp.

In such situations, women have to undergo major problems without basic facilities of toilets, drinking water and private spaces. Menstruating and breastfeeding women suffer the most.

Dalimi Barman said the paddy at their granary was damaged, and two of their cows were missing—signs of severe losses and a miserable year ahead.

When asked about relief material from the government, the villagers told NewsClick that they had received rice, dal, potatoes, etc., from an NGO. They were unsure whether the NGO acts like an agency to bring them the stuff the government provides.

"This is not likely. The MLAs and ministers of this government are overwhelmingly media-crazy. The smallest of things they do, they advertise like anything. If they had provided the relief, someone would have come to take photos," said an elderly person.

When asked about drinking water, he said, "The tube well (boring) here does not seem to be properly working. The NGO gave packets of water. Our main dependence is on our fellow villagers whose houses are still not washed away. They come and ask about our condition regularly."

The victims are relying upon collective efforts, which is can be seen everywhere in Assam during floods.

Runu Das is from the Kuwara Gobindapur village, and she stays with her 10-year-old boy. Her husband died a few years ago. She is a daily wage labourer and sometimes works as a maid to earn a living  for her son and herself.

"My son is still a minor and has stopped attending school. After a year or two, he will also start earning. Last year, we became homeless for almost a month due to Kaldia and did not get the compensation declared by the government. Can we expect anything better this time?", she asked.

The same is the situation for Golapi Barman, a 60-year widow from Chakla village.

Bijoya Das of Doloigaon works as a maid in some families in Patacharkuchi town (a few kilometres from her village). She is a mother of two. Her husband is an agricultural labourer with a few paddy field plots.

"Last year also our paddies were destroyed, and this year seems to be no different."

NewsClick could not find anyone at the shelter camp who was in a government job. Apathy and insufficiency in government aid wreck these families.

Ranjit Das, Assam's food and supply minister, represents this constituency (draft delimitation has been announced in Assam, and a few constituencies may change). But, the supply minister does not seem to supply the urgently required materials to the flood victims of his constituency. Till June 23 afternoon, Ranjit Das had yet to appear in the shelter camp.

This was a road earlier; water breached the embankment and flowed as if a river existed here before.

Is it only a flood that the government turns a deaf ear to or also issues relating to the daily struggle of people, their livelihoods and protection? NewsClick met Arabinda Das, who manages the panchayat house. He revealed something alarming.

"I have been looking after the panchayat house for 20 years; believe me, I haven't drawn any salary yet," he said.

For 20 years, a person has served at the panchayat and received no salary? Arabinda Das' case represents a lack of sensitivity from the government.

"I met Ranjit Das thrice, and every time, he says that my case will be taken and I will get some salary. But I could not have seen that day. I am serving the people; they love me and pay me something. I have some land where I grow paddies, which is how my wife Meena Das and I survive. We are living on the blessings of the people,” he added.

Arabinda Das's two sons died a few years ago.

Have natural factors only worsened the flood situation for the past few years? People don't know have much clarity. However, they are hesitant about the Kurichhu Dam uphill in Bhutan.

The Kurichhu Hydroelectric Project is a joint Indo-Bhutan project, and there are several other such dams in Bhutan; some are functioning, and some are under construction.

"This year, Kurichhu released excess water, and the water level of Kaldia increased suddenly," said Arabinda Das. He also said that Kaldia has been flooding the area for quite a long time, but the situation has worsened in the past few years.

A research scholar from Patacharkuchi also told NewsClick that the flood is not fully natural.

"How can rains for only 15 days cause such a flood? I think that had Bhutan not released water, the flood would have been of such scale."

 (Concluded)