The Assam government is all set to launch a significant eviction campaign in Sonitpur district on Saturday to remove encroachments from 330 acres of land.
The campaign will take place along the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Barchalla assembly constituency’s No. 3 Chitalmari neighbourhood. BJP MLA Ganesh Kumar Limbu is currently representating the area.
“We are ready to carry out the eviction drive from tomorrow morning. All the necessary formalities have been completed and around 1,000 security personnel have arrived for operation,” a senior official of the Sonitpur district administration told PTI.
According to government data, the neighbourhood once housed 299 families, but more than 90% of them have already moved out since they received the notice about eight months ago.
The official claimed that since the security forces’ entrance on August 31, patrols and area dominance exercises was conduct; it led some residents to leave the region voluntarily.
“We could not carry out the eviction drive earlier for various reasons. Now, most of the people have agreed that this is government land and it will be used for developmental work,” he added.
According to locals, the majority of people living on the land parcel moved there some decades ago from the southern bank of the Brahmaputra’s Nagaon and Morigaon districts as a result of severe erosion of their fields.
Locals, however, questioned the government and said that since they had “lost everything” in flood and erosion decades before, the government should have taken care of their restoration.
Gyanendra Pratap Singh, Special Director General of Police, had visited the location on Thursday and examined the security measures.
He stated that there will be one IG ranked official and three SP ranked official present during the eviction drive.
