Washed-out roads and bridges force residents and officials to use elephants to ferry food, fuel and medicines to 12 marooned villages in Lower Siang
Dibrugarh, July 17: Nearly three weeks after flash floods devastated large parts of Arunachal Pradesh, elephants have emerged as an unlikely but vital lifeline for dozens of marooned villages in Lower Siang district, carrying food, fuel and medicines across broken roads, swollen streams and rugged mountain trails.
With roads and bridges washed away in the Nari-Koyu Assembly constituency, authorities, assisted by villagers, have turned to elephants to transport essential supplies to at least 12 villages under Koyu circle that remain cut off from the rest of the district.
The giant animals are navigating steep hillsides, turbulent rivers and rocky tracks that have become impassable for vehicles, reaching settlements that relief trucks cannot access. Their role has become critical as restoration of road connectivity is still underway.
The constituency was among the worst hit by the cloudbursts, heavy rain and flash floods that struck Arunachal Pradesh late last month, leaving much of its road network in ruins and isolating remote habitations.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), more than one lakh people across the state continue to be affected by the disaster. While floodwaters have receded in many areas, thousands remain stranded by damaged infrastructure and disrupted communication links.
The worst-hit districts include Lower Siang, Keyi Panyor, Leparada, East Siang, Upper Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Kurung Kumey, Pakke Kessang, Kamle, Siang, Kra Daadi, Tirap, Changlang and East Kameng.
Official figures show that 12 people have died and 29 others have been injured in the floods and related incidents.
The scale of the devastation has drawn visits from Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Kiren Rijiju, followed by an eight-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team that assessed the damage across the state.
Rajya Sabha MP Tai Tagak, after touring the affected areas, has urged the Centre to announce a special relief and rehabilitation package for Arunachal Pradesh, saying the destruction warrants extraordinary assistance.
The disaster has also prompted comparisons with the aftermath of the 1950 Assam earthquake, with many residents describing this year’s destruction as among the worst in living memory.
Adding to the demand for greater central assistance, Advocate Kenbom Bagra, Zonal Director (Northeast) of the International Human Rights Organisation, called for the floods to be declared a national disaster and sought a ₹5,000-crore special relief package. He said many affected communities continue to struggle for basic necessities, including food, safe drinking water, shelter and healthcare.
Amid the widespread devastation, the sight of elephants carrying relief through terrain rendered inaccessible by floods has become a powerful symbol of resilience, helping sustain isolated communities until road links are restored
Also Read: Northeast braces for four-day heavy rain spell; red alert for parts of Arunachal
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