Tiwa organizations to stage a mass protest on November 4

A CORRESPONDENT

MORIGAON: Several Tiwa organizations have announced to stage a protest on Novermber 4 and called for a 24-hour middle Assam bandh on November 10 over a slew of demands.

The bodies demanded exclusion of Dimaria area of Tiwa Autonomous Council under Kamrup Metro and the Jagiroad Development Authority under Mayong Revenue Circle from the map of Assam State Capital Regional Development Authority Act (ASCRDAA)-2017. They demanded to include the left out ST villages from the Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC) and to remove the inadvertently included non ST villages from the Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC).

The organizations include - All Tiwa Students' Union (ATSU),Tiwa Yuba ChatraParishad (TYCP), All Tiwa Woman Association (ATWA), All Tiwa Protection Committee (ATPC) and Tiwa Cultural Society (TCS).

In the statement signed by the presidents and the secretaries of the Tiwa organizations said that they have been demanding to exclude the Tiwa Autonomous Council and the Tribal-Belt areas from the map of the ASCRDAA. In this regard, the State government had published a notification on October 19, 2020 deciding to rectify the Act. However, the State government did not rectify the Act and published the same without excluding the Dimaria area of Tiwa Autonomous Council under Kamrup Metro and the Jagiroad Development Authority under Mayong Revenue Circle.

The organizations also alleged that the Act has been passed in order to easily handover the lands under tribal belts at the hands of capitalists. On the other hand the organizations also expressed anger over the State government that the government has been conspiring indirectly to drive out the tribes people from their rest lands even after having the Tribal Belt Block Act. Notably, though the first TAC election was held in 1995 but the first general election of the TAC was held in 2010. Due to hasty election, many Tiwa villages had been left out from the TAC and many non-Tiwa people inadvertently enlisted into voter list. Later in 2015, the second TAC election was held with the same voter list. In connection with the TAC's voter list, the Tiwa organizations have been repeatedly urging for correction, but no government has been taken step to rectify the list till date. Due to this a total 216 villages have been left out from enlisting in the TAC list.

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