Lumding forest land 'cleared' peacefully

GUWAHATI: A month after the Dholpur eviction in Assam's Darrang district, the Hojai district administration evicted around 550 out of 670 total families, who had allegedly encroached around 500 hectares of land in the Lumding reserve forest, on the first day of the drive on Monday.
The government also filed an FIR against one Nazrul for allegedly helping the families settle in the forest.
Hojai deputy commissioner Anupam Choudhury told TOI that the district administration would evict the remaining 120 families on Tuesday.
"We have evicted 550 families. The people had already vacated their dwellings before the administration began the eviction. A few people have not left the place till now due to some issues. They will also leave the place by Tuesday. We will clear the remaining encroached land on Tuesday," said the DC.
He said people had extended 100% cooperation to the district administration in clearing the area. He said no attempt to create any untoward incident was made by anybody during the eviction.
Meanwhile, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said clearing the forest was a big success of the government after the Dholpur eviction. He said, "When asked, people said one Nazrul had helped them settle in the forest. We have filed an FIR in the matter. We know that Nazrul cannot do this without the help of department officials. Everything will come out once the police pick up Nazrul."
The evicted families belonging to Garo, Chakma and Muslim communities were living in the forest land growing ginger and turmeric since 2011-12. The people used to produce turmeric worth around Rs 25 crore a year.
The district administration has not arranged for any camp nor ration for the evicted families. A few families have returned to their own land in other parts of the state while a few have taken temporary shelter in the nearby villages.
The district administration on Sunday deployed around 1,000 police and CRPF personnel in the entire area to prevent any attempt to create untoward situations during the eviction.