Mass Demolition: 1,200 Bengali Muslim Homes Razed in Sonitpur Eviction

Around 1,200 homes belonging to Bengali Muslim families were demolished in an eviction drive in Assam’s Sonitpur district on January 5 and 6, aimed at removing alleged encroachments from around 650 hectares of land inside the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary.

The drive was conducted in areas under the Tezpur Sadar and Dhekiajuli revenue circles, including Jamuktol, Arimari, Siyalichar, Baghetapu, Galatidubi, Lathimari, Kundulichar, Purba Dubramari and Batulichar.

An official, quoted by the PTI  news agency, said the alleged encroachers had built houses and were cultivating crops inside the sanctuary.

The evictions come months after the administration cleared 2,099 hectares of land in and around the wildlife sanctuary in February, in what was described as one of the state’s largest eviction drives.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Assam in 2016, the state has carried out several demolition drives across districts, most of them in areas inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims.

 Sarma claimed on Monday that the government has reclaimed close to 1.5 lakh bighas of land through such operations.

Many of those displaced have said their families had lived in the area for decades, claiming their ancestors had settled there after losing land in riverine areas to erosion by the Brahmaputra river.

Earlier, a Scroll report noted that, over the past 40 years, erosion by the Brahmaputra River has washed away 472 villages in Goalpara district, rendering thousands homeless and landless. 

“Despite the encroachers’ request not to evict them during the winter season, the administration will not excuse them, as they were illegally staying in forest areas,” Sonitpur District Commissioner Ananda Kumar Das was quoted by PTI as saying.

The eviction drives have previously sparked violence, where 19-year-old Muslim youth was killed in police firing and several others were injured, including at least two police personnel, at Vidyapara locality of Krishnai area in Goalpara district on 17 July, when forest officials’ effort to move out the evicted families from the area turned violent.

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