Upper Assam residents demand probe into mining after devastating floods

Residents of Assam’s Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat districts are organizing a citizens’ convention in Nazira on September 14 to demand government compensation and a probe into environmental causes following devastating floods on July 19.

The floods, described as a tsunami-like surge from the Dikhow River, reportedly caused over a hundred deaths and destroyed homes, livestock, and farmland under thick layers of silt. Survivors have reported significant psychological trauma and loss of essential documents and property.

Local citizens have alleged that the disaster was exacerbated by unregulated hill-cutting, illegal coal mining, and sand and stone extraction in the Dikhow River. The convention aims to demand a scientific study into these activities, seek socio-economic development plans for the affected areas, and call for improved government disaster-response mechanisms, noting a perceived absence of state aid during the initial days of the crisis.