India floods destroy millions of homes and dreams

Entire settlements have been engulfed by rushing waters, almost resembling a huge river that had formed overnight.

In Guwahati, the main economic centre of Assam, neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble. Lush fields where rice and paddy normally grew have turned into vast swamps of mud and debris.

Back in Udiana, there are no schools, hospitals, temples or mosques in sight – just water. People travel by boats made of banana leaves and bamboo sticks. Others just swim through the brown, green brackish waters despondently, their eyes lighting up at the sight of rescuers, whose bright orange uniforms are visible from a distance.

The damage is particularly alarming in Kamrup Rural district, where hundreds of people are still reportedly trapped in their houses.

Siraj Ali, 64, says that when the water swept into his village and destroyed everything, he was scared for his life. Yet he stayed on, in a house which is now partly submerged under water, to guard his belongings and “a life-time of memories”.

He said he sent his children to a roadside shelter camp, while he waited for help to reach him. But no one has come so far.

“I am surrounded by water but I have no water to drink. I don’t have food. I have been starving for three days. What to do and where do I go?” he asks, his eyes welling up with tears.

Mr Ali now finds solace in the company of his neighbour Mohammad Rubul Ali, a daily-wage worker, who also decided to stay back to protect his house – a small hut that he painstakingly built.

“Every purchase was like a milestone for me – the cycle, the bed and the chairs. But now nothing is left. The flood took everything away from me,” Mr Rubul says.

Authorities admit that they have been unable to provide drinking water and food to every flood victim.

“It is still a challenge for us to reach some areas which have been completely cut off. Our road network reaching there has been completely ruined in the water,” Mr Suresh says.

Experts say that while climate change has complicated the state’s longstanding efforts to improve its response to flooding, there are several other factors at play.

“There is no doubt that the flood situation this time is very serious and the frequency of rains is increasing significantly,” says Jayashree Rout, an environmental science professor at Assam University. “But before linking it entirely to climate change, we need to take into account human-related factors like deforestation.”

Prof Rout says there’s an urgent need to stop the felling of big trees, especially near rivers as the roots of these trees have a lot of capacity to hold water.

But people like Ms Chowdhary have no time to analyse the reasons.

On Saturday, as the sun dripped over the cloudy horizon in Udiana and dusk crept over the sky, she sat outside her half-submerged house, visibly worried.