Assam CM disregards AAMSU’s protest, says eviction drives will continue

Local people now alert against sheltering evicted people

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Even as the people are now stepping forward to oppose providing shelter to the evicted people, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) is warning of an agitation on a massive scale if the eviction drives are not stopped. Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, however, asserted that the eviction drives will not stop irrespective of the AAMSU’s threat of an agitation.

Today, the AAMSU organised a protest against eviction drives at Bilasipara in the Dhubri district. AAMSU president Rezaul Karim Sarkar warned of nationwide unrest if the eviction drives being conducted against the minority community are not stopped. He also demanded that the evicted people should be rehabilitated.

On the other hand, the CM paid no heed to AAMSU’s threat and stated that the eviction drives will be conducted more forcefully the more the AAMSU protests. He said that the eviction drives are not being carried out in minority areas but against Miya Muslims who encroached on Forest, PGR, and VGR lands. “Half of Assam’s land is in the Sar areas, and we have left these to the Miya Muslims. Let them reside there. Why do they encroach on forests and other lands? Our indigenous people have not gone to live in Sar areas. My main interest is saving the Assamese people, and eviction drives will continue towards this end.”

Evicted people are trying to find shelter in areas in Nagaon, Darrang and Lower Assam. The day before yesterday, evicted people tried to procure shelter in Begenahati in the Nagaon district. They tried to find shelter in the house of a local resident, Bulbul Ali. Coming to know about this, the local people approached the gaonburah about the suspected people. Subsequently, on the instruction of the gaonburah, the suspected people were asked to leave the area. The villagers of Begenahati said they are determined not to provide shelter to any suspected individual.

Several such instances occurred in several areas, and the people are asking the residents not to give shelter to any evicted persons. Yesterday, 37 labourers travelling from Bongaigaon to Majuli for construction work were apprehended by the local people and handed over to the police, who then made them leave.

The problem now is that the evicted people are going into urban areas, including Guwahati, and they are finding shelter in certain areas and are engaging themselves as daily wage labourers or in other work. If the district administration does not strictly monitor such people, the evicted people will go on settling in urban areas in search of a livelihood.

 Also Read: BJP Claims Record Land Reclamation in Assam Amid Eviction Drive

Also Watch: