Dhubri: Eviction drive begins at Alamganj under heavy security

An eviction drive began early on Sunday, November 1, at Alamganj Part-IX in western Assam, with the district administration carrying out the operation under heavy police deployment, Pratidin Time reported.

The drive started at about 6 am. Officials of the district administration and lat mandals (revenue field staff) were assigned to different sectors of the area to oversee the work, and a large number of police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order, the report said.

Most homes already dismantled

Around 90 per cent of the residents had already taken down their houses and moved their belongings before the drive began, according to the report. Some families have not vacated, as they have gone to court seeking relief. The matter is next listed for hearing on November 13, and a decision on these families is expected after that. Sources quoted by Pratidin Time said some members of indigenous and local communities are among those who have approached the court.

About 2,850 bighas

Alamganj Part-IX falls under the Gauripur revenue circle of Dhubri district. According to an India Today NE report on Saturday, the administration's drive covers roughly 2,850 bighas of land that it says belongs to the government, and it had urged occupants to leave voluntarily.

Residents who spoke to the media ahead of the drive said they had bought the land from private individuals without knowing it was government land, and appealed for alternative housing. Some said they had been born in the area and that earlier generations of their families had lived there. Officials maintained that the eviction was being carried out in line with the law.

Part of a wider campaign

The Assam government has carried out a series of eviction drives on land it describes as encroached government, forest and grazing land in several districts over the past months. More drives are planned in the coming weeks, including at five locations in Lakhimpur district between November 4 and 14.

No official figures on the number of families affected at Alamganj, or on any rehabilitation, had been released by Sunday morning.