Guwahati, September 1: Akhil Gogoi, the legislator from Sivasagar and leader of the Raijor Dal, has announced a new movement concerning flood relief measures in Assam. He claims that during a recent meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, he did not receive any concrete assurances regarding changes to the state’s current disaster relief system.
Gogoi stated that he submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister on Monday, demanding amendments to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority’s relief guidelines. He argues that the existing compensation system fails to adequately address the actual losses faced by flood-affected families.
He remarked, “No solution was reached on the main issue, so we have decided to restart our flood-focused movement.”
Gogoi announced that a public meeting will be held in Nazira on September 6. Following this, a statewide outreach campaign will take place from September 7 to 16, during which Raijor Dal activists will visit flood-affected areas to assess damage and engage with affected individuals.
The Raijor Dal leader indicated that a large public meeting will also be organized in Guwahati, along with a protest outside the Chief Minister’s office on September 16.
The primary demand of this movement is to provide each flood-affected family with financial assistance of 1 million rupees. Gogoi criticized the current relief provisions, noting that compensation for death is set at 300,000 rupees, while assistance for severely injured individuals, damaged homes, agricultural land, ponds, and household goods is significantly inadequate.
He claimed that only 2,500 rupees is allocated for losses related to clothing, bedding, and other household items, with the same amount designated for damaged utensils. Gogoi emphasized that the current compensation is far too low compared to the losses incurred by permanent homes, agricultural land, and ponds.
He also raised concerns about the impact of floods on businesses and vehicles, stating that commercial establishments in areas like Sivasagar have suffered losses amounting to millions of rupees. He called for better compensation for uninsured businesses and damaged vehicles.
Gogoi accused the state government of not declaring the floods a “severe disaster” or “national disaster,” which could have facilitated greater assistance from the central government.
He also targeted the Congress party and its leaders, particularly MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that adequate relief efforts were not carried out using available resources.
The Sivasagar legislator mentioned that he would seek permission to utilize 15 million rupees from his legislative fund to provide 25,000 rupees in assistance to flood-affected individuals in his constituency.
On the political front, he challenged both Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and MP Gaurav Gogoi to contest against him in Sivasagar. He expressed his willingness to resign from his assembly seat for this purpose.
Gogoi claimed that the Raijor Dal aims to become the leading opposition force in Assam by the 2031 assembly elections. He clarified that his party will not contest the upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.
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