Inter-ministerial Central team visits Assam to assess flood damage
Guwahati, July 8
A high-level Inter-ministerial Central Team comprising six members from different Ministries of the Government of India reached Guwahati on Tuesday to visit the flood-affected districts of Assam from July 8 to 11, for an on-the-spot assessment of the flood damage during 2025 as well as 2026 till date.
The team is headed by Praveen Kumar Rai, Joint Secretary (UT), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (GoI). Other team members are Mahesh Kumar, Joint Director- FCD, DoE, Ministry of Finance, GoI; SVSP Sharma, Scientist-SF, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad; Sanjeev Kumar Suman, Director, CWC, Ministry of Jal Shakti; Prabhat Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development; and Dheeraj, Regional Officer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Central team was received by the senior officials of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Government of Assam (GoA) and headed by L Sweety Changsan, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam and Chief Executive Officer, ASDMA.
It was briefed about the flood situation of the current year, along with the damage details of the last year, in an introductory meeting held in Guwahati.
The team has been divided into groups that would visit the flood-affected districts of the State from July 8th to 11th, 2026. The 1st team will visit the districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Biswanath (Gohpur), and the 2nd team will visit the districts of Cachar, Bajali and Chirang from 8th to 11th July, 2026.
Further, the team will wrap up the details with the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Assam and other senior-most officials of the Government of Assam on July 10 at Janata Bhawan, Dispur.
The meeting was also attended by Parag Kumar Kakaty, ACS, Addl. Secretary and Addl. CEO, ASDMA, Alakananda Medhi, ACS, State Project Coordinator, ASDMA, Pankaj Chamua, ACS, Dy. Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management Department and other senior officials of R&DM Department and ASDMA.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Team has experts from MHA, Finance, Jal Shakti, and even ISRO's remote sensing centre — that's good. Remote sensing can really help map the actual inundation. But ground reality in places like Dhemaji and Lakhimpur is brutal. People are living on embankments with no drinking water. Hope the teams see beyond data sheets.
Two teams covering six districts in four days — that's a tight schedule. Hope they don't just do a heli-tour and call it assessment. They need to talk to villagers, not just officials. Also, why is no one talking about the deforestation in Arunachal that's worsening the floods? Need a holistic Brahmaputra basin plan.
I'm from the US but have family in Assam. The flooding there is catastrophic every year and yet the same pattern repeats — central team comes, assessment is done, funds are announced, but little changes on the ground. Permanent solutions like dredging the Brahmaputra and building climate-resilient homes are needed. Good luck to the team.
I'm from Cachar and this year's floods have been devastating. Entire villages underwater, paddy fields ruined. Our farmers have lost everything — no seeds, no cattle. The assessment should also count mental trauma and loss of livelihood, not just infrastructure damage. Also, why is Bajali included? It's not even a major flood district usually.
Impressive that the team includes a scientist from NRSC Hyderabad and a director from CWC. Technical expertise matters, but I hope they also bring hydraulic engineers who understand that the Brahmaputra
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