*CM does not accept demand to make public the list of 57,000 families, talks stalled, Raijor Dal likely to take aggressive form again*
Amid the indefinite satyagraha being continued by Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi since October 2 at the Assembly complex demanding compensation for the flood-affected people of Upper Assam, the state government has started talks with him. Akhil Gogoi has been demanding Rs 10 lakh assistance for families who lost everything in the floods, a one-time assistance of Rs 15,000 for every flood-affected family and additionally Rs 10,000 assistance for the affected people of Sivasagar and Charaideo, and a CBI inquiry to unearth the cause of the deluge.
As the state government started talks, the protesters of Raijor Dal and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti suspended their road protest programme today. However, MLA Akhil Gogoi has made it clear that the main issue has not been resolved until it is ensured that no genuine flood-affected family is deprived of compensation. Akhil Gogoi is still continuing his indefinite satyagraha, only the protests being carried out on the streets by Raijor Dal, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samiti have been suspended today.
According to Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, last night there were two rounds of telephonic discussions with Disaster Management Department Minister Keshav Mahanta. During the discussion, the minister heard the demands of the protesters in detail and discussed the matter with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. After that, he called again and gave a positive indication on some issues of providing assistance to the flood-affected people of Upper Assam. MLA Akhil Gogoi said, “After discussion with Minister Keshav Mahanta, he also informed the Chief Minister about the issues. There have been several discussions with the Chief Minister today over WhatsApp. The Chief Minister has given positive response on some demands and negative on some others. However, whether every genuinely affected family will benefit from the compensation is still not settled. The Chief Minister had earlier said that after conducting a first survey through school teachers, a second survey would be conducted and a list of affected families would be prepared. The list was supposed to be made public through a website or notification. Any genuine affected family whose name was not included in the list was supposed to get an opportunity to file an objection with proper evidence. But the government has prepared a list of only about 57,000 families and declared that list as final, as a result of which many genuine flood-affected families are apprehended to be deprived of compensation.”
Stating this, Akhil Gogoi expressed the opinion that many affected families are not aware of whose family name is in the list and whose is not. Therefore, Akhil Gogoi has demanded that the list be made public soon and arrangements be made to receive objections and applications for the next seven to ten days. During this period, he has also demanded that families who are genuinely affected but whose names are not in the list be given an opportunity to re-apply and a re-survey of their houses be conducted. The Sivasagar MLA fears that if this measure is not taken, many genuinely affected families may not get assistance. On the other hand, there is also a possibility that some families who are not actually affected may also get assistance. Revealing that the Chief Minister has assured to examine the matter, Akhil Gogoi also said that the Chief Minister has sought some time to examine the matter. As a result, talks between the government and the protesters over compensation for flood victims are continuing.
According to latest information received, the Chief Minister of Assam has informed Akhil Gogoi that the government will not make public the list of affected people prepared by the government. On the contrary, he has made it clear that the government will declare the list prepared by the government as final and submit the same list to the Central Government. As a result, it is certain that the genuine deluge-affected people who are not included in the list will be deprived of government compensation. According to special sources, Akhil Gogoi has also clearly told the Chief Minister that he will not accept the list which deprives genuine affected people without re-examining the list under any circumstances.
