The flood situation in Assam is deteriorating day by day as the water level of river Brahmaputra continues to rise. The mighty Brahmaputra has shown no mercy and has ravaged major parts of the state. Not just Brahmaputra Valley, even the Barak Valley of Assam has been severely affected. A total of 30 out of 33 districts is submerged under floodwaters as the tributaries of both the rivers keep flowing over danger level. Heavy rains have also affected normal lives in other parts of Northeast.
An official of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority revealed that as of Monday afternoon, a total of 4,175 villages, with 46.28 lakh people, have been affected due to the floods, while close to 90,000 hectares of agricultural lands are inundated. Not surprisingly a large section of the national media has decided to give it a miss and has continued with TRP driven prime time coverage. Another point raised by many was the absolute deafening silence from Priyanka Chopra, who happens to be the Brand Ambassador of Assam Tourism and was appointed in 2016.
Now as the state is reeling under such a crisis, the least that could have been expected from Priyanka Chopra is a tweet or comment expressing concern for the people or urging the citizens for helping the disaster-affected state.
Dear Priyanka Chopra
In case you have forgotten, you are also the Brand Ambassador of Assam Tourism. A state submerged in flood right now. Where is your concern, your tweet creating awareness and asking people to extend help for them?
Shame on you. https://t.co/C1BH9dpTy7— Aditi (@aditiagarwal811) July 16, 2019
While Priyanka Chopra despite charging heavy fees for her services to the Assam government stayed mum in America, tfipost.com in an earlier article had pointed this out and now after massive backlash on social media, Priyanka Chopra has finally come out with a tweet on Wednesday morning, days after the condition became serious.
Extremely devasted by all the news coming in from #Assam and other parts of India.
It’s heartbreaking to read about the displacement and loss of life. My prayers with those affected.Please donate at https://t.co/d5dow5OuLG and https://t.co/GNytaEqF0r
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) July 17, 2019
While it took days for Priyanka to pitch her voice of concern for Assam, Hima Das, the 19-year-old Indian sprinter has come forward and requested everyone to contribute for the flood relief fund in Assam.
The star athlete from Assam posted pictures of flood-affected regions in the state on her Twitter account where she wrote, “Flood situation in our state Assam is very critical, 30 out of 33 districts are currently affected. So I would like to request big corporates and individuals to kindly come forward and help our state in this difficult situation.”
Flood situation in our state Assam is very critical, 30 out of 33 districts are currently affected. So i would like to request big corporates and individuals to kindly come forward and help our state in this difficult situation. pic.twitter.com/cbVZv7b4IP
— Hima (mon jai) (@HimaDas8) July 16, 2019
Hima Das has also donated half of her salary towards the relief efforts.
I have contributed my bit and requesting others also to please help people of Assam. #AssamFloods https://t.co/y7ml1EMGzG
— Hima (mon jai) (@HimaDas8) July 16, 2019
As the state struggles under floods many users on social media platforms have come out and called for Priyanka’s removal as the brand ambassador and pitched the name of Hima Das for the position.
https://twitter.com/zLaTanIkPiKaChU/status/1151196351788568576
However for Priyanka Chopra, this is not the first time that she has come under fire, in 2017 too when the state reeled under floods, she was missing from the action. Assamese model and actor Mahika Sharma had then put out her concerns and said in a statement, “Priyanka is my aspiration and inspiration. She is really a humble person. But I’m very upset with her. She has certain power to help the poor victims of Assam flood. She didn’t even show any emotion for the state, even on the social networking site. This is something about which, not only me, but anyone from Assam would be upset.”
Being Assam’s brand ambassador, Priyanka’s passive involvement in the affairs is sure to raise several eyebrows and further justify calls for making the young star athlete, who recently won several gold medals at Klado Athletic Meet, Kunto Athletics Meet, and Poznan Athletics Grand Prix, as the Brand ambassador for the state.
