To,

Honorable Prime Minister Of India

Copy To : Honorable Chief Minister Of Assam

 

Subject : An Appeal to the Prime Minister's Office(PMO) India for survival against natural disaster, crisis 2022.

 

Sir,

We would like to bring your notice to the flood situation in Silchar (the second largest City in Assam) and we need to find a solution in short term and in long term.

It has been five days since Assam’s Silchar area remained inundated and cut off as the death toll in the state hit by floods rose to 100 plus since last week, with seven more people drowning on Thursday.

Nearly 0.5 million people in Silchar and nearby areas are affected due to floods. The entire City is almost submerged under water. Among the affected are officers, workers, relief workers and hence have not been able to provide optimum facilities despite putting best effort.

Even though the rainfall has decreased considerably, the situation has not changed much. As per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over 3 lakh people of the valley continue to remain affected, of which nearly 50 thousand people are in relief camps. As of Friday, 3 districts were affected.

 On 20th of June, water started flooding our street around 8.30 on Monday morning. Silchar witnessed flooding in 1985 and 2004 as well, but neither me nor our aged people have seen anything like this year’s deluge.

Officials said the flooding was exacerbated by damage to the Bethukandi embankment on the Barak river which flows six kilometres away from the city. As per the latest press release of Silchar, PTI yesterday, Honourable CM Of the State of Assam has stated “This was not a natural calamity, but a man-made flood. Bethukandi embankment has been damaged by people, leading to flooding in Silchar."

 The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said some people may have broken parts of the embankment earlier this month in order to allow Barak waters from an earlier spell of floods in May to flow out. While attempts were made to repair the breach, they proved futile due to rainfall and rise in the water level of the river. Many parts of the town are still flooded. More importantly Sir, considering the soil property and the current diversion of water, it is becoming extremely dangerous for the people of City of Silchar. We are extremely worried this might lead to a permanent diversion of river, if not addressed immediately.

Hence, we request your honour to combat with necessary action against current disaster. We firmly believe that when natural disasters strike, governments must step up a step ahead. Hence, our appeal is to :-

 

Short term & Immediate: 

1. Immediate blocking of entry of river water into town on war footing.

2. Security and Protection of dykes along the river bordering the town.

3. Letting of river water towards no man areas to reduce pressure on town areas.

 

Long term and Strategic:

1. Appoint a strong, experienced leadership team and establish an integrated governance body for the above mentioned task.

2. Conduct a thoughtful, phased approach to strategic procurement of external expertise and implementation support.

3. Establish a strong, dedicated recovery-management organization with a dual coordination-implementation mandate and hard-charging, performance-driven staff.

4. Develop a framework for prioritizing recovery needs to guide sequencing of rollout within a week.

5. Develop a truly integrated budget based on the prioritization framework for construction of a dyke.

6. Plan for and develop creative solutions to mitigate capacity constraints that the scale and urgency of the recovery will impose.

7. Make a meaningful commitment to community engagement with proper public communication.

 

Reference : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LW_PG2ZuI

#SilcharUnderWater