The Orang National Park has an area of 89 sq km in the districts of Sonitpur and Darrang, and the eviction is being carried out to remove "encroached land for an animal corridor" to Kaziranga National Park. Authorities are aiming to clear 21,000 bighas of riverine areas under the new editions of Orang National Park.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam Government on Sunday launched a five-day massive eviction drive which is set to displace thousands of “land encroachers” from the Orang National Park. The drive, officials maintain, is meant to clear the land to make space for a wildlife corridor.
The eviction drive was launched in the presence of a large contingent of paramilitary forces in Sonitpur district affecting almost 800 households, reports reaching here said on Monday.
The Orang National Park has an area of 89 sq. km. in the districts of Sonitpur and Darrang, and the eviction is being carried out to remove “encroached land for an animal corridor” to Kaziranga National Park.
Authorities are aiming to clear 21,000 bighas of riverine areas under the new editions of Orang National Park.
On the first day of the eviction, the authorities cleared the Biskhuti Char, Thengbangha Char, Sardar Char, Pansu Char and Tengagarah Char. On Monday, the exercise was conducted in Muslim Char, Sadutilla Char, Sitalmari Char and Singari Char. On May 30, 31 and June 1, the eviction drive will be conducted in the areas of the park belonging to the Darrang district, media reports said.
“Eviction drive carried out in five char areas went off smoothly,” Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner Deba Kumar Mishra said. The majority of those living on the ‘char land’ had already left the area, he claimed.
Since taking office in May 2021, the Sarma-led state administration has started carrying out evictions.
Several opposition parties and social organisations have criticised the exercise and raised worry over the loss of home and livelihood for a group of individuals defined as disadvantaged and impoverished.
To date, the bulk of people afflicted have been Muslims and tribals, while the majority of Ahoms have also been impacted. According to an official, heavy gear was not employed in the drive on Sunday because of transportation issues. “The eviction teams had to travel by boat and cross streams of water.” As a result, we did not employ any big machinery.
“We had arranged for adequate security to ensure the law and order situation,” media reports quoted the official as saying.
He stated that most of the citizens were from the adjoining districts of Nagaon and Morigaon and had already evacuated their houses.
Earlier this year, in one of the largest eviction efforts in Assam, the administration removed 2,099 hectares of Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining revenue villages in Sonitpur district during a three-day period beginning February 14 and affected about 12,800 people.
Brushing aside the opposition criticism, the chief minister said in the state Assembly on December 21 last year that eviction campaigns to clear government and forest lands in Assam would continue as long as the BJP remains in power.
