GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday, August 3, visited Nepali Khuti, the village most affected by recent floods in eastern Assam's Sivasagar district.
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Travelling by tractor through the inundated and severely damaged areas of Nepali Khuti, Sarma reviewed the extent of the destruction and interacted with affected residents.
Sharing his observations in a post on X, the Chief Minister described the devastation as extensive.
"Visited Nepali Khuti village, the worst affected area in the recent floods. The scale of devastation is immense but with the full might of our administration engaged in relief ops, we will ensure that we restore normalcy at the earliest," he said.
Sarma said the state government was adopting a multi-pronged approach to support flood-affected families, including providing immediate financial assistance.
"We are taking a multi-faceted approach to help our people affected by floods and opening every possible avenue to give them cash in hand," he added.
The Chief Minister said the destruction in Sivasagar and Charaideo was far more severe than what had been reflected in television coverage.
"Flood relief alone will not be enough," Sarma said, adding that villages such as Bihubor, Nepali Khuti, Betbari and Nimaijan may have to be reconstructed entirely due to the extent of the damage.
During his visit, a local girl of the area expressed strong concern over the alleged illegal mining activities in the area. Pleading before the CM, the girl said, “Please stop cutting the hills here, or our village will be destroyed.”
Sarma enquired about the areas where mining operations existed and assured the girl of action.
Earlier in the day, Sarma distributed interim flood relief to affected families at a programme held at the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Dibrugarh.
Under the initiative, the Assam government will provide around ₹112 crore as interim financial assistance to nearly 75,000 flood-affected families. Each eligible household will receive ₹15,000, which will be transferred directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
According to the state government, the financial assistance will be disbursed to eligible beneficiaries across four districts between August 3 and August 5.