Memories of last year’s devastating flash floods still fresh in their minds, the inhabitants of Lakhimpur district in Eastern Assam are spending many a sleepless night since the rains began.

Hundreds of families in at least 25 villages under Naoboicha circle have already been hit by the first round of floods caused by the rise in the waterlevel in the Singra river since Sunday. While officials of the Water Resources Department (the erstwhile Flood Control Department) are working round the clock to plug the gaps, an effort which should have begun immediately after last year’s devastation. The Dikrong, Doprang and Pichala rivers have also overflown and inundated about 20 villages in the district since Monday. Incessant rains in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh have added to the intensity of the flooding.

“The losses we suffered last year were irreparable. But what is more appalling is that the government did precious little to address our problems,” said Dhrubajyoti Bhuyan, who heads a group of fish-farmers at Panigaon near here.

Residents in the district hold the state government responsible for the annual scourge that Lakhimpur has been facing in the recent years. “The government does not have any perspective plan to tackle the situation which is turning worse every year. There is no coordination between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. While Arunachal is going ahead with a number of dams on the Siang, Ranganadi, Dihang and other rivers, Assam has remained a silent spectator,” complained Jagat Bhuyan, a Lakhimpur resident who had worked in the erstwhile flood control department for over 35 years.

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