Watch: Assam BJP MLA Slammed For Piggyback Ride During Flood Review

A BJP MLA from Assam is being slammed by social media users after a video of him taking a piggyback ride to a boat on the back of a flood rescue worker surfaced online. Sibu Misra, MLA from Lumding assembly, is being criticised for being "insensitive" as the floods have caused devastation in the northeastern state, killing at least nine and affecting more than 6.6 lakh people spread over 27 districts of Assam.

Mr Misra was in the Hojai district to review the flood situation in the area.

A video tweeted by news agency ANI shows the MLA being carried by a rescue worker to a boat, which is barely a few steps away, in ankle-deep water.

#WATCH | Assam: BJP MLA from Lumding Assembly, Sibu Misra was seen taking a piggyback ride to a boat, on the back of a flood rescue worker yesterday, May 18th. He was in Hojai to review the flood situation in the area. pic.twitter.com/Rq0mJ8msxt

— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2022

More than 48,000 people have been shifted to 248 relief camps after pre-monsoon rains triggered floods in Assam.

Hojai and Cachar are the worst-hit districts. More than 1 lakh people have been affected in each district. The army has rescued more than 2,000 people trapped in the Hojai district as part of ongoing rescue efforts.

Dima Hasao district in south Assam remains cut off for the fifth day today. Landslides triggered by rain have cut off road and rail links to Dima Hasao.

Villages along the Brahmaputra, one of the world's largest rivers, are flooded as the water level rose following heavy rains. 

It has also snapped road and rail connectivity to the Barak Valley as well as vital parts of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur since Sunday.

The Assam government will provide financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those who died.