The North Eastern floods have destroyed and still destroying crores of infrastructure and life even after a month since the floods began. Several people have died and many families have lost their homes and livelihood. But, it seems that the floods are beneficial for the Kaziranga National Park.

The 430 sq km large Kaziranga National Park lying in Golaghat and Nagaon districts is home to two-thirds of world's population of great two-horned rhinos. It is also host to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. Apart from rhinos and tigers, the park has large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer. (newindianexpress.com)

According to the director of the national wildlife park, Satyendra Singh floods are needed in Kaziranga for the welfare of the animals and bring three benefits to Kaziranga National Park. Firstly, natural deaths of animals throughout the year causes large-scale decomposition. The flood waters clean up the mess. Second, the floods wash away unwanted weeds from the park. And most importantly, floods fertilise the land. Satyendra Singh went on to say, "The grasses that grow after a flood are a good diet for the animals. They improve the health of animals.” But he also hastened to add, “However, we don't want a massive flood like the one we had recently." (newindianexpress.com)

Last month's floods submerged 80 per cent of the UNESCO world heritage site. Altogether 105 animals, including seven rhino calves, died. It was the fourth biggest flood in the sanctuary since 1988. Now that the waters have receded, people who fled to relief camps on high ground have returned to their villages. (newindianexpress.com)

Political Tussle over Assam floods

Seeing the intensity of the situation Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lakhimpur in Assam, the worst affected of the 29 districts in the state.

During his visit, PM Naredra Modi reviewed the damage caused by floods and announced a package of Rs 2,000 crore for relief, rehabilitation and infrastructure repair for Assam and other Northeastern states where the recent floods have caused havoc and claimed over 100 lives. The Centre also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each for those injured in Assam floods . (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

The Congress had hit out at Modi for his one-day visit to understand the state's flood situation and accused him of lacking in sincerity as far as Assam's flood devastation was concerned. (oneindia.com)

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi too visited the same region in Assam and took stock of the relief and rehabilitation measures. His visit came just two days after PM Narendra Modi came to take stock of the situation in the region. (oneindia.com)

The 47-year-old Congress leader also met villagers affected due to floods in Lakhimpur. Addressing the victims of the devastating rainfall, the politician assured that Congress party would extend all possible help and demand the Centre and State governments to provide the relief allotted to the victims. (oneindia.com)

Floods in Assam are caused largely by the Brahmaputra to the north and rain waters from Karbi Anglong to the south. (newindianexpress.com)