NAGAON: Working towards making the removal of illegal encroachments into land belonging to the Batadaba Than, the government of Assam has started a major eviction drive on the morning of Monday, December 19.
Nagaon's Batadava Than is the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva, the Neo-Vaishavite Saint who established the Satra culture in the state. His creations are an essential part of the Assamese way of life.
The state government had previously informed that more than 1200 bigha or 160.5 hectares of land belonging to the institution of religious and cultural importance was encroached upon. They had sent out eviction notices to more than 1000 families in the region.
The state administration mentioned that the eviction is taking place in four villages in the Nagaon district including areas of Hai Dubi, Jamai Basti and Shanti Jan Bazar among others. Satya Raj Hazarika, the DIG of the Central Range of Assam Police is in charge of this major eviction operation. Several administrative officials of Assam have also been deployed for this project.
A huge police force of more than 600 Assam Police and CRPF personnel have been deployed in order to prevent any untoward incident informed the Superintendent of Police for the Nagaon District of Assam, Leema Doley. She also informed that more than 70% of the people have already vacated the place. In a similar eviction drive undertaken in the Darang district of Assam, two people including a minor died when encroachers aimed to fight back against the government.
The state government had earlier mentioned that more than 1800 hectares of land under the ownership of 303 satras or Vaishnavite monasteries of the state are now under encroachment. They also mention that the state government is working towards the complete clearing of these encroached areas.
A key point to be noted is that the previous government had created infrastructure including roads and public amenities within the lands which are now being evicted.
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