Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday assured the people of Assam that the government would make the state 'flood-free' in the next five years.
"Earlier, during Assembly elections, I said that we made Assam free from terrorism and strikes. Now give us five years we will make Assam free from floods. The Assam government has made yojana which will make floods a thing of the past in Assam within 5 yrs," Amit Shah said at a Karyakarta Sammelan at Guwahati's Khanapara.
On Friday, Shah emphasized the need for the state's protection from floods for its further development and attracting significant investors.
"The state must come up with a long-term plan which would provide protection from floods for decades to come and not look at short-term measures alone. The Assam government should come up with a concrete action plan to protect and rejuvenate the wetlands in the State and increase their holding capacity so that they can also act as storage reservoirs during floods," Shah said while reviewing a meeting chaired by him in Guwahati to make the state of Assam flood free.
The state has witnessed devastating flood and landslide conditions due to its being a heavy-rainfall-prone region of the country as it witnessed over 190 deaths in the state till July this year.
In July 2022, nearly 5.39 lakh people in 12 districts were affected by the deluge.
Besides, several fish farmers also incurred massive losses in the devastating Assam floods in July, who were later granted aid by the state government with the intent to revitalise the state's fish industry.
Fisheries Minister of Assam, Parimal Suklabaidya had informed ANI about 80 per cent of the fish farmers had suffered significant losses which were worth approximately Rs 1,000 crores and led to a huge setback to the sector.
According to the July data of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), nearly 8.9 million people in the state were affected by the flood and landslides as it claimed 192 lives in the state till then and around 2.40 lakh hectares of cropland in 34 districts.
Notably, the state was previously affected as Flood Reporting and Information Management System (FRIMS) report revealed on August 30, 2021 that as many as 950 villages in 21 districts of Assam that inhabit 3,63,135 people were affected due to floods in the state that year.
According to the Assam government's data, 64 people lost their lives in the 2016 floods, 160 in the year 2017, 45 in 2018, and 101 and 124 in the years 2019 and 2020, respectively.
