Sivasagar: Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday gave the Assam government 48 hours to release pending financial assistance to flood-affected families, warning that affected people would march to Guwahati if the aid was not disbursed. Gogoi issued the ultimatum while addressing a mass rally organised by the Raijor Dal at Boarding Playground in Sivasagar. Thousands of flood-affected residents reportedly attended the rally, demanding immediate release of the ₹15,000 interim assistance announced by the state government.
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Gogoi alleged that several affected families were still waiting for the promised assistance more than a month after the floods. He said the government had described the payment as emergency relief, which, according to him, should have reached beneficiaries within 24 to 48 hours. He demanded a minimum compensation of ₹10 lakh for every flood-affected family, besides financial assistance for businesses and shopkeepers who suffered losses. He also called for a CBI probe into the causes of the floods, alleging that illegal coal, sand and stone mining may have aggravated the disaster.
The state government, however, has said that relief distribution and damage assessment are continuing. On August 17, the government announced that ₹146.26 crore had been provided to 96,842 flood-affected families across Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat. Officials also said verification of nearly 3,000 families in Sivasagar was still underway. Gogoi warned that if the remaining assistance was not released within 48 hours, the agitation would intensify and flood victims would march towards Guwahati.
