NEW DELHI, 21 July 2004 — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook an aerial survey of the flood-affected lower Assam districts yesterday to personally review the devastating condition. He said: “I have come to get a first-hand account of the floods.”
As the prime minister this was his first visit to Assam which he represents in the Rajya Sabha.
He was accompanied by union Minister of State for Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev, State Health Minister Dr. Bhumidhar Barman and Minister of State for Defense Bijoy Krishna Handique. The premier and his entourage surveyed the worst-hit Nalbari, Kamrup, Darranf and Barpeta districts of the state.
At the end of a daylong visit, a visibly disturbed prime minister described the situation as “very serious and grave.” While addressing a press conference at Lokopriyo Gopinath International Airport, Manmohan announced the formation of a high-powered task force to report to the central government within six months ways to find a permanent solution to the recurring flood problem.
The task force will be deputed to evolve a holistic view of the flood situation and suggest short-, medium- and long-term measures to solve the problem, Manmohan said.
In order to facilitate relief to the flood victims, the prime minister also announced that a central team would soon visit Assam to assess the damage caused by the floods.
As immediate relief, the center had already given 460 million rupees from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and 550 million rupees from the Calamity Relief Contingency Fund (CRCF), Manmohan said.
An additional amount of 900 million rupees will be sanctioned for flood protection measures in the latter half of the tenth five-year plan, he said.
Emphasizing that the flood problem requires active cooperation of the center, he said: “Whether national or not, the central government has to take active interest in the state.”
Before addressing the press, the prime minister held a series of meetings at the airport with state leaders and various organizations.
Being indisposed, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi could not go for the aerial survey. During a meeting, he submitted a memorandum to the prime minister highlighting the flood situation and losses suffered by the state. Additional Chief Secretary of Assam S. Kabilan also made a presentation about the dismal situation in Assam.
In the memorandum, Gogoi has urged the prime minister to grant the state a post-flood management package to deal with devastation. Gogoi has requested him to discuss the issue of water management with China and Bhutan as the devastation caused in Lower Assam was due to a breach in the reservoir of a hydel project in Bhutan and in Upper Assam due to heavy rainfall in China.
