Guwahati, August 30: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said more residents of the state may have been in Nepal at the time of the devastating flash floods than official records currently show, with fresh information continuing to surface and the names of some rescued persons absent from the latest lists prepared by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority.
The Chief Minister confirmed that eight Assam residents stranded in the flood-hit areas of Nepal have been safely rescued and will return home shortly. He said he had spoken directly to the eight individuals and expressed gratitude to Varun Choudhary of CG Corp for facilitating their rescue. The rescued persons have been identified as Pankaj Verma, Samar Bezbaruah, Gautam Das, Gopal Debnath, Soneswar Narzary, Sarbison Marak, Silva Marak and Elphison Sangma. All eight are safe and are expected to cross back into India in the coming hours.
Sarma noted that efforts remain under way through both formal and informal channels to establish contact with other Assam residents who are still unaccounted for. Earlier official tallies had placed the number of missing or untraced persons from the state at between ten and twelve, with several belonging to districts including Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Hojai, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari and West Karbi Anglong. Some of those affected were working at hydropower project sites, including the Upper Trishuli project in Rasuwa district along the Nepal-China border.
The Chief Minister’s observation that the actual number of Assam residents present in the disaster zone may exceed official figures stems from the continuous flow of new information from families and other sources. In several instances, individuals confirmed safe by the Chief Minister or by their relatives do not appear on the ASDMA’s compiled lists of missing or stranded persons, underscoring the difficulty of maintaining accurate real-time data amid the chaos of the floods.
The flash floods in central Nepal, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche linked to a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border, have caused widespread destruction and a heavy death toll. Indian authorities, including Assam officials, have been coordinating with Nepalese counterparts and private facilitators to locate and assist those from the state. An emergency help desk was earlier set up at Assam House in New Delhi to support families seeking information about relatives who may have been in the affected areas.
While the confirmation of the eight rescues has brought relief to their families, the Chief Minister made it clear that the search for the remaining untraced individuals continues with urgency. State agencies are working to verify every fresh lead and ensure that all Assam residents still in Nepal are accounted for and brought home safely at the earliest. The evolving nature of the information, with names appearing and lists being revised as new details emerge, has reinforced the government’s call for families to share any available information so that the official count can be updated and rescue efforts directed more precisely.
