Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi on Saturday (August 22, 2026) alleged that three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators, including a Minister, were responsible for the deaths and devastation caused by floods in parts of eastern Assam.

Mr. Gogoi named Water Resources Minister Sushanta Borgohain, Sonari MLA Dharmeswar Konwar, and Nazira MLA Mayur Borgohain as responsible for the floods. “They control the syndicate involved in mining activities along the Dikhow River,” he said during a Facebook Live session. The Dikhow is the largest river flowing into Assam from Nagaland.

The Minister represents the Demow Assembly constituency in Sivasagar district. Nazira is in Sivasagar district while Sonari is in Charaideo district.

Mr. Gogoi said the Chief Minister and Mines and Minerals Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah cannot be expected to be unaware of what one of their Cabinet colleagues and two BJP legislators have been up to.

At least 105 people were killed and more than 7.5 lakh people were affected by the floods between April and August. Flash floods, caused by heavy rainfall in the hills of Nagaland, inflicted much of the damage in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat districts.

Contributing factors

Mr. Gogoi said a cloudburst did not cause the flooding, as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed. He listed several factors for the calamity, including rampant coal mining along the Assam-Nagaland border and damage to natural river protection structures along the Dikhow river.

“I had sent a special team equipped with drones to study the flood situation and prepare a report. Among several factors behind the flood, the team identified five cofferdams constructed across the Dikhow river in areas where stone mining was taking place,” he said.

The Raijor Dal president said the cofferdams, constructed with narrow openings for water to pass through, created a 350-km-long reservoir upstream of the Dikhow, adding to the intensity of the flood. “The protective stone embankments were excavated in a 25-km stretch, leaving the areas vulnerable to flooding,” he added.

He claimed the destruction of river protection structures damaged tea gardens in the area.

Mr. Gogoi further criticised the flood relief and rescue operations, alleging that only about 10% of the required relief reached affected people. He claimed that some of the rice distributed had a foul smell and the mattresses provided to flood victims were of poor quality and unfit for livestock too.

Published - August 22, 2026 08:05 pm IST