Assam: RSS Swayamsevaks reach over 90 flood-hit villages, aid more than 8,000 people

In the wake of the devastating floods that hit Upper Assam after heavy rain and landslides in the Naga Hills from July 19, swayamsevaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and affiliated organisations have carried out a large-scale relief and rehabilitation campaign across Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.

 

Till August 6, the floods affected 818 villages, 80,650 families and nearly 4.66 lakh people, while 60 deaths were reported in the four districts. Sivasagar was the worst-hit district, with extensive damage also reported from Charaideo and Jorhat. Many homes remained submerged for days, forcing families to move to safer locations. The report notes that even after floodwaters receded, serious challenges persisted in housing, sanitation, health and livelihoods.

 

A regional assessment team visited the affected districts on August 3-4 and held meetings with local volunteers and affected families to assess immediate relief needs and long-term rehabilitation requirements.

 

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The Swayamsevaks coordinated the relief effort along with organisations such as Seva Bharati Purvanchal, NMO Assam, AMO Assam, Siu-Ka-Pha Hospital, ABVP, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Vidya Bharati, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Sanskrit Bharati, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Laghu Udyog Bharati and others. The campaign included food distribution, medical services, sanitation work, disinfection drives, labour assistance, agricultural support, and the restoration of schools, namghars, and homes.

 

 

Swayamsevaks travelled by road and boat to remote flood-hit settlements in Nazira, Khetiya, Simoluguri, Sivasagar town, Selenghat, Teok, Titabar, Boginadi, Borsola, Morangi and several other areas.

 

A major component of the campaign was a shramdaan (voluntary labour) drive involving about 1,250 volunteers, who cleaned homes, schools, namghars and public spaces after floodwaters receded.

 

 

By August 8, Seva Bharati Purvanchal had distributed a substantial quantity of relief material, including:

 

• 20,000 ready-to-eat food packets

• 20,000 litres of drinking water

• 93 quintals of rice

• 9 quintals of pulses

• 1,300 mosquito nets

• 900 utensil sets

• 200 bedding sets

• 100 cartons of clothes

• 3,000 sanitary pads

• 1,000 ORS packets

• 2,600 soap bars

• 20,000 chlorine tablets

• 7,500 kg bleaching powder

• 2,300 litres phenyl

• 60 cartons of medicines

• 87 bags of cattle feed

 

To prevent post-flood disease outbreaks, volunteers also distributed chlorine tablets, bleaching powder, phenyl and mosquito-control material.

 

 

Medical teams from NMO Assam and Siu-Ka-Pha Hospital began health camps on August 2. Till August 7, they had conducted:

 

• 44 medical camps

• treatment for 3,631 patients

• services of 17 doctors

• support from 13 interns and 4 MBBS students

 

The report says fever, skin infections, water-borne illnesses and mosquito-borne diseases were among the common ailments treated in the camps.

 

 

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) launched a separate youth-led relief drive from July 22 in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat. The campaign involved 585 volunteers and reached more than 90 villages, benefiting over 8,000 people. Volunteers distributed food, drinking water, clothes and sanitation materials and participated in post-flood cleaning operations.

 

With large areas of farmland damaged, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has started livelihood restoration work. The organisation reported assistance to around 5,000 affected families, support to more than 600 farmers, and preparation of about 1,500 bighas of agricultural land for replanting. It also supplied two truckloads of cattle feed and contributed ₹3 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

 

As floodwaters continue to recede across parts of Upper Assam, the RSS Swayamsevak’s operation has evolved into a broader rehabilitation effort aimed at restoring health, education and livelihoods in some of the state’s worst-affected districts.