Central team in Assam to review flood damage

Guwahati, Jul 10 (PTI) A six-member inter-ministerial central team on Friday held a high-level meeting with Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota as part of its assessment visit to review flood damage in the state during 2025 and 2026, an official release said. The team, comprising officials from various central government ministries, was divided into two groups to visit flood-affected districts. The first team, led by joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, Praveen Kumar Rai, visited flood-affected areas in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Biswanath districts. The second team visited Cachar district and was scheduled to visit Chirang and Bajali districts. The meeting chaired by the chief secretary was attended by senior state government officials, representatives of central agencies including the NDRF, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, NHAI, NF Railways, FCI, BSNL and the Department of Telecommunications, besides officials from the six affected districts through video conferencing. The central team reviewed the extent of damage to property and livelihoods in the affected districts. The state government informed the team that as the monsoon season was still underway and assessment of damages was continuing, the final flood memorandum would be submitted to the Centre after the end of the flood season. The central team suggested that the state take up mitigation projects under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF), including dredging and channelisation of smaller rivers and tributaries to improve water-carrying capacity and reduce flood runoff. It also suggested restoration of wetlands in flood-affected districts to help in floodwater absorption, the release added. PTI DG DG MNB