Collaboration, not blame game, needed to tackle floods, says Nagaland Minister

GUWAHATI

Assam and Nagaland should avoid blaming each other for the devastating flood and adopt a collaborative approach to tackle natural disasters, Nagaland’s Tourism and Higher Education Minister Temjen Imna Along said.

Many in Assam believe illegal mining activities and large-scale felling in Nagaland contributed to the devastating flood in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat districts. Since April, the flood in these and 13 other districts claimed 95 human lives and affected more than 7.5 lakh people so far.

“The Nagaland government has noted what Assam’s Chief Minister has conveyed. We are sure that the Chief Ministers of both the States are in touch regarding the natural calamities,” Mr. Along, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, said on Wednesday (August 5, 2026).

“We cannot blame each other for anything. We have to take collective measures to minimise such disasters,” he said, pointing out that Nagaland also suffered extensive damage due to the recent spell of heavy rainfall.

At least 11 people were killed in Nagaland’s Mon town on July 19 after heavy rainfall triggered landslides.

The Nagaland Government has been undertaking afforestation and biodiversity conservation initiatives to restore the ecological balance, Mr. Along said. He claimed logging has been almost banned in the State.

Flood relief collectors warned

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday (August 6, 2026) announced a crackdown on unauthorised flood relief collection drives in public spaces, warning of strict police action against those demanding donations in the name of the flood victims.

Many groups have been collecting money ostensibly for flood-affected people from business establishments and residential units in urban centres, including Guwahati and from motorists and pedestrians on the streets and highways. Individuals and organisations have been moving around with collection boxes or using QR codes to seek contributions.

“I have issued firm instructions to the Assam police to stop such unauthorised fundraising activities across the State immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said regular classes in schools across the flood-affected districts, including Sivasagar and Charaideo, would be resumed from August 10. “There will be alternative arrangements for students of institutions that remain unfit for reopening due to flood damage,” he said.