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The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), comprising six members from different Ministries of the Government of India (GoI), concluded its on-the-spot flood assessment visit to the worst flood-affected districts of Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat on Wednesday with a meeting with Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota.
At a high-level meeting held at Janata Bhawan in Dispur, L. Sweety Changsan, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, and Chief Executive Officer, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), briefed the Central Team on the factors behind the recent flood situation in the state and the challenges arising out of the unprecedented calamity. The Central Team also shared its experiences from the visits to the flood-affected districts. The meeting, chaired by the Chief Secretary, was attended by senior officials of various line departments of the Government of Assam, representatives of central agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Army, Northeast Frontier Railway, Food Corporation of India (FCI), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), besides the district administrations of the four flood-affected districts through virtual mode. The IMCT, led by M. Ramachandrudu, Joint Secretary (DM-II), Ministry of Home Affairs, visited Charaideo district on July 26, Sivasagar on July 27, and Jorhat and Golaghat on July 28. The team also comprised Sanjeev Kumar Suman, Director, Central Water Commission (CWC), Ministry of Jal Shakti; Mahesh Kumar, Joint Director-FCD, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance; Prabhat Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development; Dheeraj, Regional Officer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and SVSP Sharma, Scientist-SF, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. During the meeting, the Central Team discussed the damage to livelihoods and properties in the visited districts. The Government of Assam informed the team that the recent flood situation in the four districts was unprecedented. It said districts such as Charaideo and Sivasagar had never been flood-prone. However, exceptionally high rainfall in Nagaland on July 19, 2026, including 181 per cent above-normal rainfall, with Mokokchung recording a 493 per cent departure from normal rainfall, Wokha 108 per cent and Mon 45 per cent, along with extremely heavy localised rainfall in Charaideo and Sivasagar, exacerbated inundation across the affected districts. The state government also informed the team about rescue operations carried out with the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), NDRF, Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) personnel and local volunteers. Relief, as per the prescribed guidelines, was distributed to flood-affected residents of the four districts. It also informed the team that G.R. kits (family kits) comprising rice, dal, mustard oil, salt and candles were being dispatched from neighbouring districts to Sivasagar and Charaideo. The government said damage assessment in the four flood-affected districts is still underway and that the final flood memorandum would be submitted to the Government of India after the flood season. Senior officials of various departments of the Government of Assam also requested the Central Team to consider relaxation in SDRF assistance norms to provide necessary support to people in the worst-affected districts. The Central Team assured the Government of Assam that it would submit its observations on the flood-affected districts to the Central Government. The meeting was also attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Kailash Chand Samria; Additional Chief Secretary, Industry Department, J B Ekka; Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Dr B. Kalyan Chakravarthy; and other senior officials of various line departments of the Government of Assam. (ANI)
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