Congress demands declaring Assam floods as 'national problem'

On August 13, 2026, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) delivered a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pleading for the flood and river erosion crisis in Assam to be recognized as a national issue. Led by Pranjit Das, the committee met Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya to submit their concerns. While flood conditions improved that day, with 87,000 affected people in four districts, the death toll climbed to 103, marking a rise from previous numbers.

The Congress highlighted that 40% of Assam's land area, or 31.05 lakh hectares, is prone to flooding, significantly higher than the national average of 10.2%. They cited several factors contributing to the crisis, including heavy siltation in the Brahmaputra and Barak basins, torrential monsoon rains, shallow riverbeds, embankment breaches, and the impacts of climate change.

The disaster has devastated the livelihoods of farmers, daily wage laborers, and tea garden workers, displacing countless families. The APCC argued that the scale of the problem is too great for the state government to handle alone and demanded that the central government acknowledge it as a national problem to facilitate a permanent and scientific resolution.

They urged the formation of a high-level task force including central and state officials, scientists, technical experts, and representatives of affected people to develop a solution.

The party also requested adequate central funding for a comprehensive master plan addressing river course regulation, embankment strengthening, scientific dredging, real-time flood forecasting, early warning systems, and the planned rehabilitation of displaced families. The memorandum emphasized that temporary relief is insufficient to address the long-standing crisis, stressing the need for effective coordination among central ministries to manage the Brahmaputra and its tributaries effectively.