'Declare drought, provide relief': Congress urges Assam Guv amidst dry spell

Guwahati, July 21: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has urged Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya to direct the State government to immediately declare drought-like conditions in multiple districts of Assam and provide relief measures for the affected farmers.

Saikia has written a letter to the Governor in this regard.

“I am writing to express my grave concern over the drought conditions affecting multiple districts of Assam during the current Kharif season, resulting from rainfall deficit and failure of the irrigation system. Recent data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and widespread field reports show that large tracts of agricultural land in Assam are turning dry and unproductive, severely impacting lakhs of farmers dependent on rice cultivation. The current circumstances necessitate immediate classification as a drought emergency under relevant relief regulations,” he stated.

Citing reports from the IMD, Saikia added that a majority of districts in Assam have been severely impacted by rainfall deficits, resulting in adverse effects on the farmers and agricultural yield.

“Assam experienced a 42% rainfall deficit between June 1 and 16 this year. The districts of Barpeta, Bajali, Baksa, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Goalpara, Morigaon, Nagaon, Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Sonitpur, and Lakhimpur are experiencing acute drought-like conditions… A Department of Science and Technology report indicates that 65 Indian districts, including some in Assam, are categorized as ‘very high drought hazard’. The report categorizes several districts in Assam as highly vulnerable. The report further highlights that 11 Indian districts, including Assam’s Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, South Salmara-Mankachar, and Golaghat, are categorized as having extremely high vulnerability to both flooding and drought,” he stated.

Saikia alleged that the failure of irrigation systems has exacerbated the impact of insufficient rainfall on farmers.

“As per data provided by Irrigation Minister Ashok Singhal in the Assam Legislative Assembly in March 2025, only 24.28% of the agricultural land is covered by the irrigation system in Assam... The cumulative situation created by the shortage in rainfall and failure in the irrigation system has critically burdened the agricultural sector. This will also impact tea cultivation in Assam due to unpredictable rainfall and extreme temperature fluctuations,” the senior Congress party leader stated in his letter to Acharya.

He urged the Governor to direct the State government to immediately declare drought-like conditions in the affected districts under NDMA/State Relief guidelines.

“Each farmer, including adhiars, should receive Rs 50,000 compensation payment to ensure a dignified standard of living,” Saikia stated.

He also demanded emergency irrigation relief using pump sets and tankers, free or subsidized distribution of drought-resilient seeds, fertilizers, and inputs for alternative cultivation, distribution of paddy seedlings among the farmers, release of the pending MGNREGA wages and increase in rural workdays to prevent migration and economic collapse in rural areas, and a district-level audit of irrigation schemes, revival of defunct shallow tube wells and canals before the next sowing window.

“Given that over 70% of the rural populace depends on agriculture for their livelihood, such a crisis demands a decisive response. Expeditious governmental intervention and aid are not merely necessary but represent a moral and constitutional imperative,” Saikia stated.