3 rhinos back in Pabha after eviction drive

Guwahati: A week after Assam cleared Pabha reserve forest of settlers in one of the biggest eviction drives that continued for two days, at least three rhinos were found to have returned to their habitat on Tuesday.
The news of the return of the animals was shared by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma via Twitter.
“Happy to share that 3 rhinos have been spotted in Pabho Reserve Forest in Lakhimpur, days after our drive resulted in freeing of 4163 ha (32000 bigha) of land in the RF from encroachment. The gentle giant returning to Pabho RF is a wonderful news for all wildlife enthusiasts,” Sarma tweeted along with pictures of animals resting inside the forest.
With an original geographical area of about 50 sqkm, the Pabha Reserve Forest was recognised by the government in 1941 but continued human interference resulted in fast depletion of the forest cover so much so that the place was longer a dense forest.
The squatters, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslim families, built houses, roads, fisheries and tilled the forest land for commercial agriculture purpose.
One the first day, the authorities cleared about 200 hectares in Mohghuli village, where over 200 families were staying. On Wednesday, the administration cleared the remaining 250 hecatres of encroached land in Adhasona village, which was occupied by nearly 300 families.
This was the third major eviction drive in Assam within a month after Batadrava, the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva, followed by the eviction in Barpeta to clear 400 bighas of government land.