Floods Ravage Merapani Villages, Locals Urge Govt Action

Floodwaters unleashed by heavy rainfall in the neighbouring state of Nagaland have left a trail of devastating impact in several villages under the Chaudang Pathar Gaon Panchayat area of Merapani, Assam. The Ghiladhari River, swollen beyond its banks, has submerged the villages of Ghiladharichuk, Taranichuk, and Garigaon, damaging homes, destroying farmland, and displacing residents.

As villagers rush to contain the situation with makeshift barriers, the sentiment on the ground is one of fear, frustration, and desperate appeals for help.

“Through this news channel, I’m pleading with the Assam Government to do something about the flood,” said a resident of the affected region. “Please provide geobags to deal with the situation.” The resident explained that while floods are a recurring issue, this year’s impact has been particularly devastating. “It has affected quite a bit of our agricultural land. We planted all our vegetables in those lands, and all of it is destroyed now. Even during the paddy season, we are deeply affected, and yet we haven’t received adequate aid from the government. We’re not asking for much, even geobags would help.”

Geobags are used as a flood-control solution, which involves large sandbags placed along riverbanks, and have emerged as a critical demand from villagers. Locals say these protective measures were promised following river excavation work, but never implemented. As a result, the Ghiladhari’s floodwaters surged unchecked into residential and agricultural zones.

Another resident shared a chilling account of being alone at home when the waters entered: “After the heavy rains, the water flooded everything. It even entered our house. I was very scared as I was alone at night. They haven’t provided the geobags yet; if they had, the situation might’ve been better. Everything is just flooded now.”

Another villager was seen manually stacking sacks to block water from entering further into the community, illustrating the lack of formal flood management mechanisms in place.

The floods have especially devastated the local agrarian economy. Large tracts of agricultural land now lie buried under layers of sand and sediment, with paddy seedlings destroyed. For many families, this flood means not just the loss of a season’s harvest but a blow to their only source of livelihood.

“The area could’ve been saved if the geobags had been installed in time,” a local farmer said, pointing out the government’s inaction despite previous warnings.

This crisis raises urgent questions about disaster preparedness and the state's response to recurring environmental emergencies in vulnerable regions like Merapani. The absence of proactive flood control measures, especially after river dredging activities, has not only exposed infrastructural weaknesses but also placed entire communities at risk.

As water levels slowly recede, the call for accountability grows louder. For the villagers of Chaudang Pathar, the demand is clear and modest: not compensation, but prevention from the next inevitable flood.

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