Akhil Gogoi Stages Hunger Strike, Demands ₹10 Lakh Flood Compensation

Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi on Saturday staged an eight-hour hunger strike, demanding enhanced compensation for flood victims and a CBI probe into the causes of the devastating floods that hit Assam.

Gogoi began the protest at 8 am outside the Sivasagar district commissioner's office, where he was joined by party leaders and workers. Addressing reporters, he demanded that the government provide ₹10 lakh compensation to families whose houses and belongings were destroyed in the floods.

He said the ₹15,000 provided to some affected people was inadequate given the scale of the losses. Gogoi also criticised the Centre and the state government, claiming that a disaster of similar magnitude in another state would have been declared a “national disaster.”

The opposition MLA accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of failing to secure adequate Central assistance for Assam and said the state was facing financial constraints in providing relief.

Gogoi further claimed that around 60 per cent of roads and bridges in Sivasagar and neighbouring constituencies had been damaged. He sought special packages of ₹100 crore each for the worst-affected areas to support reconstruction and restoration of infrastructure.

The Raijor Dal chief also demanded a CBI investigation into the floods that began on July 19. He alleged that the Chief Minister had initially described the disaster as a cloudburst, while India Meteorological Department data did not support the claim.

Gogoi alleged that illegal mining activities and buffer dams upstream of the Dikhow river contributed to the devastation following heavy rainfall in Nagaland. He maintained that only an independent CBI inquiry could establish the actual reasons behind the floods.

According to the latest figures, at least 104 people have died and more than 78,000 remain affected by the floods in Assam. Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat are among the worst-hit districts.