Dispur (Assam): Singer Papon has urged people across the country to come forward and support those affected by the devastating floods in Assam.
In a video message on X, Papon said, "Hello everyone, hello India, hello world. I mean, I just wanted to bring to notice what's happening in Assam right now. The devastation that's happened because of the floods this year. It rains a lot here, there are floods, but you can't imagine the situation this time."
He expressed deep sadness over how the floods have deprived many people of their livelihoods.
"Villages are flooded, people are still homeless, hundreds of people are missing, people have lost their lives...so many animals have died. It's a bad situation, so please spread the word," Papon, who hails from Assam, appealed.
"I request everyone in India and across the world to please, you know, look towards Assam. It's humanity, you know, we all must come together, whatever we can do, and we need to do it quick. We're all doing our bit here. If you want to help, please come forward," he added.
The death toll from the floods in Assam has risen to 68, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Disaster Reporting and Information Management System (DRIMS) here on Monday.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that ministers from the state government will reach out across the state to coordinate the rehabilitation operations. The state government's priority remains addressing relief to citizens in the worst-affected districts like Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat.
Earlier, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a coordinated exercise was being mounted to restore power in areas where it had been suspended.
"As Assam steadily recovers from the floods, power restoration efforts continue across affected districts. Following the precautionary suspension of electricity supply during the floods, Assam Power Distribution Co. Ltd teams have been carrying out comprehensive safety inspections while restoring power in a phased manner across Sivasagar, Jorhat, Charaideo, Dhubri, Bongaigaon & other affected areas. We remain committed to restoring essential services at the earliest and ensuring every affected community returns to normalcy," the CM said.
On Sunday, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal described the flood situation in Assam as "very serious" and said the Centre and the state government are working together to carry out relief and rescue operations for those affected.
Speaking to reporters, Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been closely monitoring the situation since the floods began and has remained in constant touch with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
"The flood situation in Assam is very serious, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been engaged in gathering information about this situation from the very beginning. He has also spoken to the Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma and has also gathered information about this situation. From the very beginning, the Central Government has been fully engaged in assisting the State Government and helping all our flood-affected people in this situation. Both the governments are jointly distributing relief material and carrying out rescue operations," Sonowal said.
He said the Prime Minister also spoke to him on Sunday morning, sought an update on the ground situation and assured the people of Assam of all possible assistance from the Centre.
"The Prime Minister called me this morning and inquired about the situation. I explained the details of what I personally saw yesterday, and the Prime Minister said, 'Tell the people of Assam that we stand with them and are ready to provide any assistance.' The state government and the central government will jointly take action on this issue. We will take whatever steps are necessary. As per the Prime Minister's instructions, a high-level inter-ministerial team has arrived and will be speaking with the affected people and assessing their situation," he said.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
