Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited Lakhimpur, the worst flood-affected district in Assam, and promised the people that he would raise their issues in Parliament and fight for their compensation.

“I will fight for your compensation. That is your right. I know you people have suffered immense loss due to the floods. I will raise your issues in Parliament,” the Congress vice-president said at Bogolijan, about seven km north of the district town of North Lakhimpur, where the Ranganadi had caused a major breach on July 10, damaging over 200 houses and causing several human deaths.

Rahul Gandhi also visited Amtola-Joinpur, another place where the Ranganadi had caused a major breach on July 9, in the process turning several hundred acres of paddy fields into desert by depositing a massive layer of sand. “We have asked our Congress party workers to help you people rebuild your houses damaged by the floods,” he said at Amtola.

In both places, the Congress leader, accompanied by state Youth Congress president JP Das and other local leaders crossed the Ranganadi by a boat to reach out to the affected villagers. Lakhimpur had registered the highest number of deaths during the recent floods. Of the 84 persons who lost their lives in the Assam floods, 11 are from Lakhimpur district.

The Congress vice-president, who flew in directly from New Delhi to Lakhimpur in eastern Assam, later flew to Silchar in southern Assam where he attended the cremation of veteran Congress leader and former union minister Santosh Mohan Deb.

40 villages still under flood

Though the water-level of the Brahmaputra and most of its tributaries had receded much below the danger mark, 40 villages in three districts – Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Jorhat – were still reeling under floods on Thursday, the official daily flood report said.

The Jia-Bhoroli and Dhansiri were flowing above the danger level, and the number of affected people on Thursday stood at about 10,000 people, the flood report said. About 200 people were still lodged in a relief camp in Lakhimpur district, it said.

While the recent floods had affected over two lakh hectare of crop area across the state, the Assam government on Tuesday sought Rs 193 crore from the Centre for meeting the losses incurred in the agricultural sector.

Over 5.04 lakh farm families have been badly hit by the two waves of floods in the past two months. Of them about 4.61 lakh are small and marginal farmers, many of which have also lost their cattle and poultry in the devastating floods.