Garo National Council (GNC) Apprehends Non-Inclusion of Indigenous Garos In NRC

A Correspondent

Boko: Garo organizations fear non-inclusion of border villagers in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which will be published on August 31. Anindra Marak, Kamrup district president of Garo National Council (GNC), said that about 20 per cent people in the hilly border areas of the district had not even applied for inclusion of names in the NRC on time while others might not have the requisite documents.

He also added that when the application process for the NRC had started, they organized many awareness meetings in the Garo-inhabited border areas in Kamrup district to make the people aware about the NRC. But due to some problems they might not be included in the NRC, he said.

CR Marak, secretary of Garo Students’ Union (GSU) Assam Zone, said that some villages like Athiabari, Salpara, Ranighat, Machpara, Rangtali, Malapara and Gijang were situated in the Assam-Meghalaya border and people of these villages always felt neglected by the Assam Government. So, they had not applied for inclusion of their names in the NRC. According to the villagers, they got electricity, water supply, development of road connectivity, primary education facilities and medical treatment facilities from Meghalaya while these facilities had not been made available to them by the Assam Government.

Sanjay R. Marak, local resident of Hahim, said that some people were frustrated with the Assam government and were not interested in the NRC. Many Garo villagers had cast their votes in Assam several times but were yet to get their voter identity cards, all due to the alleged negligence of the village headman, who is the block-level officer of the mentioned villages.

When asked to comment on this matter, Boko Revenue Circle Officer Pinki Dutta said that everyone had their own choice and they might or might not include their family data for the NRC process. She also added that the situation in Boko was under control and the State Police had been frequently observing the sensitive areas.

Asked about the security measures, Boko Police station officer in-charge Jogendra Barman said that everything was under control and CRPF and BSF personnel had already been deployed to control any untoward incident. He also added that he was continuously observing the border area. OC Jogendra Barman, who has settled many inter-State border issues, recently received the ‘Best Police Officer in Kamrup district’ award during the 73rd Independence Day celebration at Amingaon in Kamrup district.

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