A 25-year-old Class 10 dropout has emerged as a local hero after rescuing nearly 2,000 people stranded in the recent Assam floods, using only a traditional wooden boat and his knowledge of local waterways despite having no formal rescue training or motorboat.
Shravan stepped into frontline rescue efforts after flash floods inundated the Nazira sub-division in Sivasagar district on July 19.
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Every monsoon, Shravan headed to the riverbank to salvage floating logs swept down by the current, a modest yet vital routine that provided his family with both income and the firewood they relied on instead of LPG. But that morning, the river felt volatile. Massive tree trunks tore through the water with terrifying velocity.
Having spent his entire life on the banks of the Dikhow, Shravan knew the signs of trouble instantly. By sunrise, rising water levels submerged villages, washed away roads and disrupted electricity and communication networks, leaving thousands of residents stranded across the region.
When floodwaters invaded his own home, forcing his family to flee, Shravan stayed behind instead of rushing to help them. "If I had gone back to save my house, no one would have been left to save the others," he said, quoted by NDTV.
Working alongside a group of volunteers, Shravan repeatedly navigated dangerous floodwaters to evacuate children, women, elderly people and patients trapped in their homes across five villages. The team relied on indigenous rowing techniques and a hand-rowed wooden boat, highlighting the shortage of specialised rescue equipment in remote parts of Assam.
Shravan remembers the terror of the rescue: "There were people trapped in the ceilings that we had to pull out. It was terrifying because, at night, we were working in total darkness."
Despite the constant risk of their boat capsizing in strong currents, the volunteers continued their rescue mission, safely evacuating marooned residents to secure locations.
Officials said no fresh deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, keeping the flood-related death toll at 82. However, the Dikhow River in Sivasagar and the Dhansiri River in Golaghat continued to flow above the danger mark, posing an ongoing threat to nearby communities.
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According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the floods have affected 349 villages across the districts of Golaghat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Bajali, Dhemaji, Sonitpur and Jorhat, with Charaideo and Sivasagar remaining the worst-hit areas.
Charaideo is the worst-hit region, with 75,199 people impacted, followed by Sivasagar, with 58,824 affected residents, reported PTI.
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