"Govt not interested in people's plight": Congress' Jitendra Singh over Assam floods
Jul 15, 2024
Morigaon (Assam) [India], July 15 : Jitendra Singh Alwar, All India Congress Committee (AICC) In-Charge for Assam, targeted the BJP government over the prevailing flood situation in Assam and said that the government is not interested in the plight of the people.
Speaking to ANI, Alwar said, "The BJP has been saying for the last 10 years that they will put in all efforts and stop the floods. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Himanta Biswa Sarma have also said such things several times. But we see that the floods come every year. They say that they have sanctioned crores of rupees and hence the floods will not come but the condition remains the same."
He added, "We have come to this village, and 4-5 feet of water has accumulated here. The people are not provided clean water or required food materials. They are not able to get rice or pulses. The government is not interested in the plight of the people. Till now, 30 lakh people have been affected and 70 people have died. Who is responsible for this?"
The remarks by Alwar came after a team of AICC and APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) on Monday visited the flood-hit areas of the Morigaon district in Assam and met the flood victims.
The Congress leader further said that Rahul Gandhi came here as well as in Manipur and instructed them to help the people as much as possible. "Every worker of Congress is going to the villages and helping people," Alwar said.
Stepping up his attacks on the ruling party leaders, Alwar said, "During the election campaigns, they toured everywhere but now when the state is going through such a situation, where are they? They have left the people on their own. This is sad and shameful, and I am deeply pained by this."
Alwar also asserted that the party will take the matter to parliament. "The Congress will take this issue to the Vidhan Sabha and the Parliament. There shouldn't be any politics when it comes to flood relief, but if they deviate from their promises, we will raise our voice against them."
Assam Congress President Bhupen Kumar Borah also spoke about the flood situation and said, "More than 90 people have already died and 30 lakh people are suffering due to floods. The government is not doing what it should do... We visited the Jagiroad area and it comes under Water Minister Pijush Hazarika... The villagers have been in flood for the last 15 days."
Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and took stock of the flood situation in the state.
The flood situation in Assam remains grim, with the death toll rising to more than 90 as per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). More than 5 lakh people across 18 districts are reeling under the deluge, with Assam's Cachar being the worst-hit district.
The flood-affected districts in Assam include Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karimganj, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, and Sivasagar.On the other hand, 1,342 villages under 52 revenue circles are still under water, and the flood waters submerged 25367.61 hectares of crop area in Assam.
The water level of the Brahmaputra River is flowing above the danger level mark at Neamatighat, Tezpur, and Dhubri, while the Burhidihing River is flowing above the danger level mark at Chenimari (Knhowang), Disang River at Nanglamuraghat. Over 58,000 people are still taking shelter in 172 relief camps and distribution centres in 13 districts. 283712 domestic animals were also affected by the deluge.