Sivasagar district administration launches eviction drive

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

SIVASAGAR, March 27: The Sivasagar district administration on Monday carried out a major eviction drive in and around the Moribeel here.

The drive, which is expected to continue during the coming days, has been launched with a view to allowing smooth flow of flood water from the area to the major water–bodies like Dikhow, Darika Jamu, officials said.

During today’s drive, which was led by Additiol Deputy Commissioner of Sivasagar, Aswini Kumar Doley, houses, garages and walls constructed over the Moribeel at Melachakar area were demolished. A two-storey building constructed illegally by one Rajen Gohain was also demolished in the area. In the eviction drive which was carried out against the encroachment on Moribeel, a garage, a small house and boundary walls of government pleader Lohit Prakash Dutta, was also demolished.

Sivasagar Revenue Circle Officer Sampriti Goswami, Additiol Superintendent of Police Zakir Hussain, Ward Commissioner of Ward No. 10 Trilochan Borthakur and other officials from the civil and police department also took part in it.

Water logging along the tural stream and on water bodies is believed to be the main reason for flash floods in the area after heavy downpour every monsoon. Due to rampant encroachment which include earth-filling and construction over the Moribeel, water carrying and retaining capacity of these tural water bodies have substantially reduced over the years. In this context, the Deputy Commissioner ordered the officials of departments concerned to take stern action, and following which today’s eviction was carried out.

For several years now, Sivasagar’s civic problems have been greatly compounded by illegal encroachments. The day-by-day increasing population and also the unregulated activities of some influential persons have contributed to these too. Construction activity in and around  has long been haphazard, and land-grabbers have consistently turned a blind eye to environmental constraints. The district administration had launched several eviction drives earlier at Jamu and other areas, but these petered out.