Assam flood: Akhil Gogoi announces fresh agitation, demands Rs 10 lakh relief for affected families

Guwahati, Sep 1 (IANS) Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday announced a fresh agitation over Assam’s flood relief measures, alleging that his meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma failed to produce any assurance on revising the state’s existing disaster relief provisions. 

Gogoi said he met Sarma on Monday and submitted a memorandum seeking amendments to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) relief manual, arguing that the compensation currently available does not adequately reflect the losses suffered by flood-affected families.

“The main issue has failed. Therefore, we have again announced a flood-centric movement,” Gogoi said. The Raijor Dal chief announced a public meeting at Nazira on September 6, followed by a statewide outreach programme from September 7 to 16.

During this period, party workers will visit flood-affected areas, assess the damage and interact with affected residents.

Gogoi said a major public gathering would subsequently be organised in Guwahati, while a protest would also be held outside the Chief Minister’s Office on September 16.

The central demand of the agitation will be Rs 10 lakh in financial assistance for every flood-affected family. Questioning the existing relief provisions, Gogoi cited the Rs 3 lakh compensation prescribed in cases of death and said assistance for serious injuries, damaged houses, agricultural land, ponds and household belongings was inadequate.

He said families losing clothes, bedding and other household materials receive Rs 2,500, with a similar amount available for damaged utensils. He also questioned the compensation for completely damaged pucca houses, agricultural land and ponds, claiming that the current amounts were disproportionate to actual losses.

Gogoi also raised the issue of flood-related losses suffered by businesses and vehicles, particularly in Sivasagar. He alleged that several establishments had suffered losses worth crores and sought better compensation for uninsured businesses and damaged vehicles.

He further criticised the government's refusal to declare the floods an “extreme disaster” or “national disaster”, arguing that such a designation could facilitate greater central assistance. Gogoi also targeted the Congress and its leadership over their response to the flood crisis, particularly Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.

He alleged that adequate relief work had not been undertaken using available funds. The Sivasagar MLA said he would seek permission to use Rs 1.5 crore from his MLA fund to provide Rs 25,000 each to flood-affected people in his constituency.

Turning to politics, Gogoi challenged both Gaurav Gogoi and Chief Minister Sarma to contest against him from Sivasagar, saying he was prepared to resign his Assembly seat for such a contest.

He also claimed that Raijor Dal was seeking to emerge as Assam’s principal opposition force in the 2031 Assembly elections and said the party would not contest the upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.