Jorhat (Assam) [India], August 18 : Nearly a month after devastating floods hit Majiya Bheti village in Jorhat, affected families continue to struggle to rebuild their lives after losing their homes, crops, livestock and sources of livelihood.
Twenty-eight days after floodwaters entered the village, residents said the impact of the disaster continues to be felt in their daily lives. For families dependent on agriculture and daily-wage work, the destruction of crops, fisheries and household resources has left them facing uncertainty over their income and food.
Manashi Gogoi, a resident of Majiya Bheti, said the hay stored for cattle was washed away, while fish stocked in their fishery were also lost.
"Everything in our homestead has been destroyed by the flood. Even the hay we had stored for our cattle was washed away. All the fish in our fishery were lost, and our agricultural fields were also damaged," Gogoi said.
Gogoi said her family had cultivated six bighas of agricultural land, but the flood destroyed the crops.
"We had cultivated six bighas of land, but the flood has completely destroyed the crops. We had hoped that the harvest would support us for three to four months. Now, we do not even know how we will manage our daily meals," she said.
She said the family had received Rs 10,000 under Lakhpati Baideu and used the money to stock fish in their fishery. However, the floodwaters washed away the fish, wiping out the investment.
Before the flood, the family also grew vegetables around their homestead. Gogoi said that the source of food and income was also destroyed, leaving her husband as the family's only remaining source of livelihood.
"My husband continues to work as a daily-wage labourer. We have nothing left to depend on for the coming days. Earlier, we used to grow vegetables in our homestead, but the flood has destroyed everything. Now, my husband is our only hope." Gogoi said.
Another flood-affected resident, Navajyoti Gogoi, said his family was facing financial difficulties after losing their home and livelihood. He said he had taken loans from Bandhan and a self-help group and was now struggling to repay them following the destruction caused by the floods.
According to Navajyoti, fish worth around Rs 50,000 had been stocked in his pond. Fish from the previous year were also present, but the flood swept them away.
The family was forced to stay at other people's houses for several days after their home was affected. Navajyoti said they stayed at a friend's house for a considerable period before returning home only two days before.
"For the past several days, we had been staying at other people's houses. We stayed at a friend's house for quite some time and returned home only the day before yesterday," he added.
Navajyoti said his family consists of five members -- his parents, wife, child and himself -- and that he is the only earning member. He added that his son's education had also been affected by the flood.
"We are daily-wage workers, and now we have lost our home and our source of livelihood," he said, appealing to the government for assistance to help the family rebuild.
The experiences of the two families highlight the continuing difficulties faced by residents of Majiya Bheti nearly a month after the floods. With agricultural fields, fisheries and household resources damaged or destroyed, families dependent on daily wages and farming are now trying to manage their immediate needs while dealing with losses that have affected their longer-term livelihoods.
Earlier on Monday, as part of the State Government's efforts to assuage the sufferings of the flood-affected people by providing financial assistance, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma released interim flood assistance amounting of Rs. 47.93 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 31,951 families, with each receiving Rs. 15,000 in the districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat.
The funds were released at a programme held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati.