Guwahati, Aug. 4 -- What is the reason behind the devastating floods that swept across Upper Assam, claiming more than 80 lives and displacing over seven lakh people of 800 villages across 11 districts? Initially, the government attributed the floods to extremely heavy rainfall in the Naga Hills caused by a cloudburst. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there was no cloudburst in the Naga Hills.

There were also allegations that excess water had been released from the reservoir of a smaller project, the Dikhu Hydroelectric Project (DHEP). DHEP has three units of 62 MW each, with a total installed capacity of 186 MW. None of the three units - I, II or III - of the Dikhu Hydroelectric Project are operational; the projec...