Will perform Tandav Nritya on Himanta's table if flood relief not fully paid: Akhil Gogoi

Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi on August 22, warned that he would perform a “Tandav Nritya” on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's table if flood-affected people in his constituency do not receive the full one-time relief assistance promised by the state government.
 

Gogoi was speaking about the alleged delay and negligence in the distribution of government relief to flood-affected people in Sivasagar and Charaideo districts.
 

“I will do Tandav Nritya on Himanta's table if all the people do not receive the one-time relief and the full amount,” Gogoi said.
 

He claimed that nearly 80 per cent of his constituency had been affected by the floods, with many people losing their homes and belongings. He questioned the delay in providing immediate assistance to those who had been without relief for several days.
 

Gogoi also criticised the handling of relief distribution by the district administration and referred to his interaction with Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner Mridul Jadav.
 

He alleged that although the administration had identified more than one lakh affected people, the process of providing one-time assistance was not opened as expected. Gogoi claimed that the deputy commissioner had acknowledged that more than two lakh people had suffered losses.
 

Gogoi further alleged that discrepancies had been found in the list of beneficiaries and questioned why elected representatives were being asked to identify duplicate names instead of the administration undertaking the verification process.
 

He said he had warned the district administration that if the promised Rs 15,000 one-time assistance was not provided to the affected people, he would intensify his protest.
 

Gogoi claimed that following his protests and repeated interventions, the government announced that Rs 15,000 assistance would be provided to flood-affected people in Sivasagar and Charaideo.
 

He also criticised the Centre's response to the flood situation and said the scale of the disaster would have remained underreported had the issue not been raised in the Assam Assembly.
 

Gogoi said people from across India had come forward to support flood-affected communities, but alleged that the severity of the disaster was still being underestimated.
 

Referring to the protests against him by employees of the Deputy Commissioner's office, Gogoi said he welcomed the protests and also welcomed BJP workers who wanted to demonstrate against him.
 

He alleged that large quantities of silt remained inside the homes of flood victims and invited IAS officers association to visit Sivasagar to witness the damage themselves.
 

Gogoi warned that if the government failed to provide the full promised assistance of Rs 10 lakh to families who had lost everything, he would perform a “Tandav Nritya” on the chief minister's table and resign as MLA.