Flood-hit and ignored, yet Nagaland contributed Rs 1 crore for Kerala flood relief

At least 12 people have been killed and over 5000 have been displaced in one month in Nagaland.

NEW DELHI: Kerala faced its worst floods in nearly a century and was the focus of the country for it. But Nagaland faced rising waters too, and received little attention. However, the Northeastern state still managed to find it in itself to make a donation to the relief fund to help Kerala recover. And now, Nagaland has called for all our help.

Nagaland has faced unprecedented rainfall in the last few weeks leading to a flood-like situation in the state. Still, it contributed Rs 1 crore to help Kerala in its hour of need.

Arguably ignored like most of the other North eastern states, Nagaland needs your help now.

At least 12 people have been killed and over 5000 have been displaced in one month. The landslides in the state have destabilised connectivity leading to broken roads across through most parts of the state. Major roads, including NH-29, have been cut off. The state is also witnessing a power failure because of the rising water level at the Doyang hydro-electric project.

Gesture by a state which itself is facing nature’s fury. Remember Nagaland is at d other corner of India n struggling with rains. What connects is d bond of Indianness n a heart that goes out for d suffering. Amount may be small but d gesture is big. Kudos to Rio n Nagaland Govt. https://t.co/nyLfa96buZ

— Ram Madhav (@rammadhavbjp) August 19, 2018

State government led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has sought an advance amount of Rs 100 crore from the Centre to restore connectivity in the region. 

To take stock of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Nagaland Chief Minister on Saturday and assured him of all possible assistance. "Spoke to Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and took stock of the situation in wake of floods in parts of the state. Assured all possible support to the state in rescue and relief operations. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Nagaland and pray for everyone`s well being," he tweeted.

I thank Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for his call and words of support. It means a lot for the people of Nagaland. I am confident that with the support of Government of India, we will overcome the challenging situation caused due to heavy rains and landslides. https://t.co/raGZ6MEn8N — Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) September 1, 2018

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also earlier in the week spoke to Rio about the rain-battered state. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were rushed to the state for rescue and relief operations.

While the state is awaiting monetary help from the Centre, the CM also took to Twitter to seek funds for the development work. He shared bank details of the CM Relief Fund on Twitter. Several people have since helped Nagaland and are even appealing to the others to do so.

Not just Nagaland, a flood alert has also been sounded in Garo Hills in Meghalaya after the swelling of the Brahmaputra in Assam. China has also warned India of a possible flood-like situation in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It has said that it would release huge amount of water from the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) on its side as it has faced a record downpour. The Tsangpo has broken a 150-year-old record with rising water levels.