A day after inviting criticism for his “insensitive” social media post enjoying a meal with some MLAs at the Assam Assembly canteen, Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) announced that he and Deputy Speaker Habbey Teron would donate a month’s salary toward relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected people in the State.

The Speaker also announced that all the staff of the Assam Legislative Assembly Secretariat would donate a day’s salary for the victims of the floods that have claimed 75 lives so far, displaced more than 7.5 lakh people, and washed away thousands of livestock.

Barring two of Raijor Dal, all MLAs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its regional allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front, and the opposition Congress, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), and Trinamool Congress pledged a month’s salary for flood relief.

While Raijor Dal MLAs Akhil Gogoi and Mehboob Mukhtar have been on the ground, providing relief materials to the flood-hit, AIUDF legislator Mazibur Rahman said the two party MLAs would contribute a month’s salary for the “noble cause” despite party president Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal having committed ₹2 crore for the flood victims.

On July 26, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appealed to all BJP workers to donate generously for the flood victims. He advised party workers to hand over donations of up to ₹2,000 to the local MLA and deposit amounts exceeding ₹2,000 in the BJP Assam’s bank account.

In eastern Assam’s Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat, the three worst-affected districts, people began returning home to assess the damage and salvage what was left. Amid the despair, stench of rotting animal carcasses, soggy conditions, and the possibility of diseases, many victims vented their anger on the government and rescue agencies for not reacting promptly enough.

Earlier, the Chief Minister said that the people and the district authorities in the three districts, not used to floods, were least prepared for the unprecedented deluge almost overnight due to extremely heavy rainfall in adjoining areas of Assam and Nagaland.

Some used sarcasm to underscore the anger. “Thank you, government of India, government of Assam, Indian armed forces, paramilitary forces, NDRF, SDRF and all government agencies for acting so fast in rescue operations during flood in Assam,” a Sivasagar town resident, the first floor of whose house was submerged, wrote on his social media handle.

National problem tag sought

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) demanded that Assam’s flood-and-erosion issue be declared a national problem, warranting sustained national commitment and intervention for a permanent solution.

Requesting the Prime Minister to visit the flood-affected areas of the severely affected districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat at the earliest, the AASU reminded him of his frequent visits to the State for election campaigns.

“At this hour of unprecedented suffering, they [affected people] equally deserve your presence, solidarity, and assurance,” the letter signed by AASU president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Samiran Phukan read.

The AASU also urged the Prime Minister to announce a special economic package for the three hardest-hit districts to ensure comprehensive relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, and constitute a high-level fact-finding committee comprising independent experts to ascertain the causes of this catastrophe and prepare a time-bound roadmap for a permanent and scientific solution.

Another youth body, the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, urged the Assam government to significantly enhance relief and rehabilitation measures for flood-affected people, including increasing the one-time ex gratia for families of those killed in the floods to ₹20 lakh.