Twenty-six lives lost on a stretch of highway that cuts through one of India's most iconic wildlife corridors — and on Saturday, 14 November 2026, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma stood at the site of that loss. The CM visited the accident location at Rangajan, Kaziranga, on NH-715, reviewed the circumstances of the tragedy, and laid out an immediate relief and accountability framework for the bereaved families and survivors.

₹7 lakh per family: what the state is committing

The most immediate relief comes in two tranches. The Chief Minister's Relief Fund will disburse ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the 26 deceased, while the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) will contribute an additional ₹2 lakh per family — bringing the total ex-gratia to ₹7 lakh per bereaved household. This two-channel payout, drawing on both the CM's discretionary fund and the state's statutory disaster body, reflects established Assam practice for mass-casualty incidents.

CM Sarma also directed that post-mortem examinations of the deceased be completed the same day — a step that allows families to begin last rites without the extended procedural wait that often compounds grief in such tragedies. His office confirmed that police and district administration teams have been instructed to accelerate the process.

Injured routed to JMCH, specialist doctors mobilised

Survivors with serious injuries are being treated at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) and other designated facilities. The CM directed that specialist doctors be deployed to ensure the highest standard of care available within the state's public health network. JMCH is Assam's principal government tertiary care centre for the region around Kaziranga, making it the natural hub for critical cases from this stretch of NH-715.

NH-715's deadly reputation — and what Assam's CM is directing next

NH-715 passes through a landscape of dense forest, wildlife crossings, and narrow rural approaches adjacent to Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses. The highway's topography — curves, low visibility zones, and heavy freight traffic — has made it a recurring site of serious accidents. Assam governments have grappled with highway safety in this corridor for years without a durable solution.

CM Sarma directed police and district administrations to intensify road safety awareness drives and enforcement on the stretch — an instruction that now carries the political weight of a CM-level site visit. Whether it translates into sustained enforcement or a short-term surge will be the measure of the government's follow-through.

Twenty-six families are counting the days until some normalcy returns. The state's answer, for now, is a cheque, a specialist doctor, and a promise to make this stretch safer. The harder work begins the morning after the condolences.