Guwahati/ Batadrava, Dec 20 (PTI) A drive to evict alleged encroachers from a piece of a government land in Assam’s Nagaon district was completed by the administration on Tuesday, amid demands for compensation by some who claimed that they were rightful owners.
The drive, which began on Monday morning, concluded during the day with over 1,200 bighas of land having been cleared in Dhing revenue circle area by a posse of 600 security personnel, a senior police officer said.
No untoward incident was reported and people largely cooperated with us, Nagaon Superintendent of Police Leena Doley stated.
Nearly 1,000 families have lost homes in the wake of the drive, with many taking shelter on the roads, official sources said.
Many demanded that they be given a rehabilitation and compensation package, they said.
District officials said that notices were served on them at least two months ago, a claim that was rebuffed by some of the locals.
Gopal Kalita, one of those evicted from Balisatra area in Dhing revenue circle, said that he was a resident of the locality since 1971, and had received no notice regarding eviction.
“Our home was razed to the ground and we were given no time to take out most of our belongings. We spent the night on the premises of a hospital. I appeal to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to make arrangements for our rehabilitation,” he said.
Another local, Dharma Bora, claimed that the original Assamese inhabitants should at least be given adequate compensation.
A resident of Haidubi in Nagaon, Motibur Rahman said that he was born and raised in that area, and have always seen people living in harmony, no matter which community they belonged to, but the anti-encroachment drive has now sparked tension in the locality.
Sixty two-year-old woman, Nitumoni, said she was yet to come to terms with the fact that her home, where she had lived for the past 50 years, was gone in a matter of a few minutes.
A Nagaon district official said that most of those evicted have moved to the homes of relatives in nearby villages.
He also said that all possible help for relocation would be rendered to them.
Assam Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia, meanwhile, said that he has constituted a 13-member fact-finding delegation, which would be meeting officials to find out the status of the relief distribution work being undertaken for the displaced.
Heavy security arrangements were made for the drive with senior police officers camping in the district since December 13.
This is the second major eviction drive in the state in the recent times, the first being in Darrang district in September last year, which had led to violence and subsequent death of two persons.