In response to questions on the state's ongoing flood catastrophe, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that geographical circumstances outside the state's control are to blame.
Following his assessing of the flood situation in Kamrup district, he told the media that "the devastating second wave of floods in the state was primarily caused by a cloudburst in neighboring Arunachal Pradesh.
He added that heavy rainfall in China, Bhutan, and the upper parts of Arunachal Pradesh are the reason for the floods in Assam, adding that this is "beyond our control." The impact and suffering of the people have significantly decreased as a result of multiple flood management programs over the years, but Sarma notes that "we will have to deal with the natural consequences in the best possible manner."
On Tuesday, the Chief Minister had also visited the flood situation in Kaziranga National Park and the Golaghat district of Upper Assam. It is to be noted that the Kaziranga National Park has been severely damaged by flooding, and the park is currently experiencing the worst of the effects.
The Chief Minister to visit Majuli on Thursday, where a breach in an embankment had flooded large areas of land. He continued, "We are working around the clock to make sure that no more embankments are breached." He stated that several of the impacted districts have seen a decrease in rainfall, and "if this trend continued, then the situation was expected to improve within a week", he added.
However, he noted, if there was constant rain in the catchment areas, the situation would still be dire and we would need to respond appropriately. He declared that the state's citizens' "resilience and it shows in times like these when we collectively commit to overcome the challenges posed by the floods" is their greatest asset.
