Assam: Uriamghat eviction drive begins in a massive way

OUR BUREAU

GUWAHATI/GOLAGHAT: A massive eviction drive to free around 11,000 bighas of forest lands from encroachers began at Uriamghat in the Golaghat district today.

The demolition drive began from Bidyapur village, targeting as many as over 2,600 houses in 12 villages. Over 2000-strong security forces equipped with over 100 excavators demolished over 100 structures amid feeble protests from a few encroachers. Around 70 percent of the encroachers have already left the area with their bag and baggage.

The villages being located in an interstate border area, the Nagaland Police also extended a helping hand in today’s eviction drive. The Assam government sought help from the Nagaland administration in carrying out the drive.

According to an official, the administration is not in a position to ascertain how many days the eviction drive will take. He, however, made it clear that the eviction drive will continue till making the target area free from encroachers.

The extent of encroachment in the area is such that each family encroached upon 300-400 bighas of forest land, grew orchards of betel nut, dug out fisheries, and opened markets, schools, Masjids, and whatnot. The irony remains that the area has health sub-centres, Jal Jeevan Mission schemes, power connections, etc. that are on the wrong side of forest laws.

The administration had conducted a drone survey of the area before finalizing the eviction drive.

Meanwhile, with 75 petitioners of Uriamghat moving the Gauhati High Court challenging the seven-day notice for vacating the forest land, the high court gave a temporary relief to the petitioners allowing them to stay in the area till August 7, 2025. The court also asked the state government to respond to the case.

 Also Read: Assam Eviction Drive: Thousands of Bighas to be Freed in Golaghat

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