- Heavy rain and environmental degradation from illegal mining in Nagaland caused severe flooding in eastern Assam, breaching embankments across multiple districts.
- The disaster killed nearly 90 people, affected 1.25 lakh residents, and destroyed vast croplands and livestock across over 200 inundated villages.
- Government and social organizations are providing relief funds and materials, while health camps aim to prevent water-borne diseases in receding floodwaters.
- Experts blame unscientific mining and poor inter-state coordination, urging for better drainage systems and strict accountability to prevent future disasters.
The massive flood in eastern Assam due to heavy rain falls in the entire zone was worsened by man-made environmental degradation in the hilly terrains of Nagaland. The unprecedented rains (up to 137 mm, but not identified as a cloudburst by the India Meteorological Department) in Assam, Nagaland along with Arunachal Pradesh during 18–22 July had swollen all major rivers in the locality namely Dikhow, Disang, Darika, Dhansiri, Jhanji, Bhogdoi etc which carried a sudden wave of running water with filths. The volume of muddy water went beyond the capacity of riverbeds and finally breached embankments in many places. Nagaland government, soon after observing heavy rains in the districts of Mon, Mokokchung and Longleng, warned Assam administration over a possible overflow, but the Assam State Disaster Management Authority probably failed to read the seriousness of the lines. Lack of an efficient internal warning system for adopting quick preventive measures and unprepared district administrations later amplified the disaster.
Now the floodwaters start receding and thus reducing the number of affected people to around 1.25 lakh people in the flood-hit districts of Charaideo, Sivasagar, Golaghat and Jorhat, where the death tolls rise to nearly 90. Over 200 villages still remain inundated and thousands of families are taking shelter in relief camps. The disaster damaged thousands of hectares of cropland and washed away lakhs of domestic animals with poultry birds belonging to the indigenous families. As necessary funds are released by the Union government in New Delhi and private parties start pouring money for the cause, various agencies were already engaged in rescue, relief and rehabilitation initiatives. The local people from Assam and many parts of India also marched to the affected districts with relief materials under their capacities.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, reached the devastated localities once again and interacted with the families and reviewed the relief operations and rehabilitation initiatives on the ground. The government has already announced various welfare and rehabilitation schemes for the affected people. An interim assistance of Rs 15,000 was announced to over 75,000 families and ex-gratia payments for the fatalities up to Rs 9 lakh per family. The government officials will start visiting households from 9 August to assess the permanent damages. Sarma directed the district administrations to take necessary actions to prevent water-borne and vector-borne diseases once the flood water recedes. He also assured a series of health camps in the flood-affected areas.
Amid the chaos, senior Assam Congress leader Debabrat Saikia made public statements that the unchecked stone-sand mining in Dikhow river disrupted its natural flow and thus contributed to extensive soil erosion in the hills that finally worsened the flood in downstream areas. The former opposition leader in the State legislative assembly also raised the matter relating to large-scale extraction of stone-sands from the riverbed. He even approached Gauhati High Court following which the court on 21 October 2019 directed Assam government to constitute a dedicated mine & minerals task force battalion and a high-level committee for river conservation, but the government paid no visible attention.
Many river experts also commented that the large-scale loss of forest covers in the upstream Naga hills triggered by unscientific mining activities accelerated the flow of rainwater with silt during intense rainfall, which resulted in the worst flood for Assam. The coal mining activities in Nagaland was not a hidden issue as their legislators discussed the menace in their legislative assembly. Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, while participating in such discussions, admitted that the unique land holding system for Naga families does not allow any preventive government action. Mentionable is that under Article 371(A) the land belongs to the people of Nagaland and that's governed by customary laws of each tribe. Taking advantage of it, many owners allow open-cast or rat-hole coal mining in their lands, which ultimately degrades the environment in different shapes & sizes.
Along with the government agencies, a significant number of social organizations have stepped into the ongoing rescue and relief operations. A large group of volunteers belonging to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Sewa Bharati have joined the relief works and distributed essential materials like tarpaulins, candles, mosquito repealing coils, dry food items and bottles of drinking water along with soaps and medicines directly to the affected families. Even the journalist community in Assam has shown the sensitivity to gather relief items and distribute among the stranded people in flood-affected locations. But the apprehensions remain, if more rains hit the upstream areas of Nagaland in the coming weeks, the disaster repeats in the affected localities of Assam. Then due rehabilitation for thousands of indigenous families in eastern Assam will emerge as a real challenge to the government.
With a pragmatic government policy, the loss of human lives and properties can be minimized. But unless the Nagaland government is taken into confidence by the Central government to deal with the environmental degradation in their localities, Assam may face the problem repeatedly. Now such an inter-state approach becomes more essential for the entire region. Moreover, the low-lying areas must be accorded with scientific embankments, well-planned wetlands and improved drainage systems to combat the disaster to a larger extent. A thorough investigation to find out irregularities and fix accountability on individuals will also be necessary to address the issue pragmatically.
