Hatimuria-Hiloikhunda tension sees glimmer of solution!

From our Correspondent

DIMORIA, August 19:  Gajbari Sar near Mangaldai in Darrang district that was gobbled up by the Brahmaputra around a decade ago is seen now, so is a glimmer of solution to the prevailing tension at Hatimuria and Hiloikhuda near Mayong in Morigaon district. Tension is prevailing at the two villages following a conflict between the local villagers and erosion-affected settlers, hailing from Gajbari sar near Mangaldai.

A joint visit to Gajbari in Darrang district near Mangaldai, and Hatimuria and Hiloikhunda near Mayang in Morigaon district by Mangaldai Revenue Circle Officer Prasanta Barkakati and Mayong Revenue Circle Officer Anta Gogoi today revealed that Gajbari sar, which was gobbled up by the Brahmaputra earlier, is seen now. The sar, they said, is fit for human habitation. It seems that the Mighty river that created the problem has found the solution as well. Gobbling up sars and creating them afresh are essentially a game of this male river. Talking to newsmen after their visit to the three spots – Gajbari sar, Hatimuria and Hiloikhunda – Mayang Revenue Circle Officer Anta Gogoi said: “Gajbari sar has resurfaced now, and it is fit for human habitation. Now the Mangaldai Revenue Circle Officer will submit a  report and a proposal to the Darrang district administration. If the Darrang administration approves the proposal, the erosion-affected settlers can be sent  back to Gajbari.” The local people of Hatimuria and Hiloikhunda demand that the settlers should be sent back to where they came from as early as possible. “They grow in number like mushroom,” they said.

All settlers who flocked at Hatimuria and Hiloikhunda are not from Gajbari sar alone. Some of them are from elsewhere in the State as some 70 families left for Kotohguri near Morigaon. They had come to Hatimuri and Hiloikhunda from Kotohguri. According to reports, almost a decade back only eight families came to Hatimuria near Mayang in Morigaon district from Gajbari Sar with the sar being gobbled up by the Brahmaputra. Touched by the plight of the eight erosion-affected families, the soft-hearted villagers of Hatimuria allowed them to settle temporarily in their village under the condition that they would have to move away as soon as the situation where they came from improved. During the eight years when the simpleton Hatimuria villagers were lulling themselves into a false sense of security on the ground of being local, the settlers were slowly but certainly outnumbering them – with the number of settlers’ families increasing manifold, reaching around 500. The local people of Hatimuria and Hiloikhunda awoke only on August 14, 2016 when they were reportedly bashed up by the settlers. A clash between the local residents of the two villages and the settlers took place, and the locals were at the receiving end. Being outnumbered and overpowered, the local villagers had no way out but to stage a protest in front of Mayong police station against the slack response from the police to the incident.