Even when most of the houses in her village submerged underwater, Bimola Brahma was still holding on to her wrecked hut with a hope that the water will recede soon. But she had to surrender to the wrath of nature when floodwater levels crossed 5 feet. She managed to reach up to the roadside to take refuge under the open sky for a few days.

The Aie River after breaking the Saragaon village embankment flooded the entire village. Due to the release of excess water from Kuricchu Hydropower reservoirs in Bhutan’s Kuricchu River, western Assam districts of Barpeta, Nalbari, Baksa, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara and Chirang faced a rise in flood water level. The current of the floodwaters was so intense that it washed away everything that came it’s way.

Houses, standing crops, and other livelihood options were all swept away in no time.

After her husband’s death, Bimola Brahma used to survive on a small piece of land and selling wild vegetables. Due to her old age, she doesn’t have any employment and surviving this way has been to be a never-ending challenge. Due to her miserable conditions, many a time she would go hungry to bed.

The floodwaters while destroying her hut also washed away a small amount of grains that she stored for her survival. To compound her ordeal, the second wave of floods struck the village again on July 10th, 2019. This time the flood waters reached up to the road where she took shelter and lashed whatever she could salvage from the previous floods. Currently, she has taken refuge in the relief camp where she was given proper food, clothes, and shelter.

“I have lost everything including my land and house, water has destroyed everything”, says 65-year-old Bimola while interacting with the Caritas India State Officer Prabal Sen during the damage assessment. “I can’t even think what the future holds for me now”, expresses Bimola.

There are thousands of people like Bimola who have lost everything that they had earned through years of hard work. They are now reduced to taking shelters in relief camps. The future for them is very bleak and unknown. Caritas India in her mission to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized sections is supporting many individuals and families like Bimola.

Along with Chirang district, Caritas India, in the coming days will be carrying out relief interventions in three other flood-affected districts of Assam namely Lakhimpur, Morigaon and Kamrup with WaSH support and hygiene promotion.