Guwahati, (Samajweekly) All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Badruddin Ajmal on Tuesday said that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has promised to give homes to individuals who were left homeless during anti-encroachment drives held around the state.
“The kind of eviction taking place throughout Assam is on inhumane grounds. The Chief Minister told us that the homeless would also receive land and a home, though it would take time. Now, let’s hope that he keeps his word,” Ajmal said after meeting the Chief Minister.
He said that no person may be called a Bangladeshi until they can prove it, and that they must be given access to all essential services like other citizens. The AIUDF leader also said that his party will continue to fight for the homeless people.
Notably, to clear encroached lands, the Assam government has been undertaking a number of eviction operations in localities like Silsako, Burachapori, Gorukhuti, Bogapani, and Orang, among others.
However, earlier tensions erupted in Silsako in Guwahati on September 1 when hundreds of women showed up to oppose the eviction drive of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).
According to the administration, at least 130 bighas of land there were encroached by illegal settlers and police were deployed to remove the encroachment.
But in reaction to the administration’s eviction drive, protests have broken out, resulting in fights between demonstrators and law enforcement officials. Women from the protesting community shockingly tore their own clothing as a protest against the eviction.
They declared that they would rather die than have their homes taken away from them. Residents stated they had nowhere to go and that the government had not set up any other choices for them, despite authorities’ claims that they had given the locals advance notice of their intention to evict the property.
