Guwahati: A month after devastating floods swept through Sivasagar, nearly 70 families still call Sibsagar Town Railway Station campus home. Their houses may have emerged from the floodwaters, but for many, returning is not yet an option, with several villages still surrounded by water and homes left damaged and unliveable.The station, which became a refuge when the floods drove hundreds from their homes, has offered these families a measure of safety and solace for weeks. Now, however, many of them are facing the painful prospect of being allegedly asked to leave the very place that sheltered them when they had nowhere else to go.“We have not received any official notice asking us to vacate the railway station premises. However, some railway officials have told us to leave if the floodwater has receded,” said Isfaq Ahmed, a resident of BG Road, located behind the railway station.Ahmed returned home on Wednesday, more than a month after he and his 60-year-old mother took refuge at the station on July 20, when floodwaters swept through their colony. Although the water has receded, their home remains covered in mud and silt after being submerged for nearly 20 days. Their belongings have been damaged and the house is in ruins.Ahmed appealed to the local administration for help in cleaning the house and restoring it to a habitable and hygienic condition. “Cleaning the house and restoring hygienic conditions are the major tasks now. It is not possible to do this alone,” he said.Ahmed’s two-member family was among a few families that returned home on Wednesday. Nearly 70 families, however, continued to shelter on the station premises. Their homes, located on the other side of the station in low-lying areas surrounded by paddy fields, remain waterlogged in several places, forcing many to stay on railway premises.Several flood-affected families in Sivasagar district who had taken shelter along railway tracks were also reportedly being asked to leave. Many residents of Betbari Alimur No. 2 Konwargaon returned home a few days ago despite waterlogging in the surrounding areas. They said they needed govt assistance to clean homes that remained damp, foul-smelling and covered in dried or semi-dried silt.“Approach roads to many houses are still inundated. There is a possibility of disease if proper cleaning is not carried out. But we had to return after guards in uniform came and told us to go home last week,” said villager Mainu Rai.NF Railway chief public relations officer KK Sharma said an inspection was carried out on Tuesday and no flood-affected families were found sheltering along the railway tracks in Sivasagar.“Considering the scale of the disaster, the railways have not officially issued any instructions asking families to vacate railway tracks or stations if they have no other option but to stay there. However, according to the report received, no family is currently staying on the tracks, and those who had taken shelter there have since returned home,” he said.
