Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Wazed Ali Choudhury, on Thursday, 30 July urged the Centre to release a special rehabilitation package of ₹2,000 crore for flood-ravaged districts in the state, asserting that the scale of destruction demands an urgent and large-scale government response. Choudhury, a Congress leader, made the appeal after personally visiting the worst-affected areas.

Ground Assessment by Opposition Teams

The Congress Legislature Party divided its legislators into three separate teams to conduct an on-ground assessment of flood damage across Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat districts. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Jakir Hussain Sikdar toured Charaideo, a second team covered Jorhat, and Choudhury himself visited Sivasagar along with other legislators.

According to Choudhury, the flooding has claimed around 75 lives and displaced thousands of residents across these districts. He noted that several of the inundated areas had never experienced floods of this magnitude before, leaving both the local administration and residents unprepared.

Rescue Failures and Stranded Residents

'The government never anticipated that these areas would face floods of this magnitude. There were hardly any boats available for rescue operations, and the number supplied by the government was grossly inadequate. As a result, many people remained stranded in interior areas,' Choudhury said while addressing reporters in Guwahati.

He expressed concern that the official death toll of around 75 could rise further as rescue and relief operations are still ongoing in remote pockets. The Opposition leader also noted that the Congress party distributed relief materials worth approximately ₹2 lakh through its district committees during the visits — an amount he described as a small contribution relative to the scale of devastation.

Letter to PM Modi, Demand for ₹2,000 Crore

Choudhury confirmed that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a special central package of ₹2,000 crore for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood-hit districts. 'From what we witnessed on the ground, at least ₹2,000 crore is required to restore the affected areas and help people return to normal life,' he said.

This demand comes as Assam faces one of its more severe monsoon flood cycles in recent years, with districts that historically remained dry now submerged — a pattern that has drawn attention to gaps in the state's flood preparedness infrastructure.

Opposition Criticism of State Government

Choudhury also took aim at the Assam state government, alleging that it failed to accord adequate priority to the flood crisis during the ongoing Assembly session. He claimed that the Opposition's demand for a detailed legislative discussion on the disaster was ignored, calling the response insufficient given the humanitarian scale of the emergency.

As relief operations continue across the affected districts, pressure is mounting on both the state and central governments to accelerate aid disbursement and long-term reconstruction planning.