Guwahati, Aug. 21 -- Assam Nagarik Sanmilan has called for a comprehensive and scientific approach to the state's flood and environmental crisis, saying climate change and the current model of development have made flooding more severe.

In a statement issued on August 21, the organisation said the 1950 earthquake changed the course and character of several rivers in Assam and raised the riverbed of the Brahmaputra in many areas. It said embankments were later constructed along rivers to control floods, although the scientific and long-term sustainability of the approach remained open to debate.

The organisation said Assam had always experienced floods, but flooding in the past did not cause the same level of destruction seen today. Acco...