Guwahati: After clearing the Pabho reserve forest in Lakhimpur district from illegal encroachment,the Assam government began an eviction drive to clear ‘encroachment’ in Bura Chapori sanctuary in Sonitpur district on February 14.
Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner Deba Kumar Mishra informed the media that `more than 2500 families have illegally occupied the forest area for decades` and the administration has decided to clear `encroachment on 1,892 hectares of land belonging to the Bura Chapori sanctuary`during the ongoing exercise. The eviction drive will continue for the next 2-3 days.
Sonitpur district administration with the help of police and para military forces commenced an eviction drive to clear “encroachment” in Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary from early morning of Tuesday.
According to the records of the Assam land and revenue department, 2,513 families were residing in the encroached forest area and they were issued notices to vacate the land. Almost all the people had already left before the commencement of the drive,” DC Mishra said.
Around 100 bulldozers, excavators and tractors along with a posse of security personnel were deployed to conduct the eviction. More than 2000 security personnel including paramilitary and Assam police have been deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident during the course of the anti-encroachment drive. Forest officials said that the encroachers constructed hundreds of concrete houses and other infrastructure inside the wildlife sanctuary.
Senior BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia claims that the encroachment was patronised by the previous Congress government. The then powerful Congress minister Rockybul Hussain allowed the illegal encroachers to settle inside the wildlife sanctuary. During the Congress tenure from 2001 to 2016 hundreds of illegal Bangladeshi families were settled inside the forest land, MLA Saikia said. It should be mentioned that the previous Congress government in Assam constructed roads for the illegal encroaches. Not only that, the Congress government allotted electricity connection, Anganwadi centres, schools to the encroachers.
Earlier on January 10, Assam government in Lakhimpur conducted an eviction drive and cleared around 500 hectares of forest land in the Pabho reserve forest in the district. Three days after the drive CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted a picture that 3 one horn rhinos were roaming inside the Pabho reserve forest.
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