North Lakhimpur: Protests continued for a second day on Saturday in North Lakhimpur against the Assam government’s recent eviction of families from village grazing reserves (VGRs) in Lakhimpur district.
The demonstration was spearheaded by the Lakhimpur district unit of the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU), demanding justice for those displaced.
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A massive protest march led by Lakhimpur AAMSU members wound through North Lakhimpur, condemning the evictions as “arbitrary and inhumane.”
AAMSU leaders criticized the drive for targeting “poor, landless families” and refuted claims that the evicted individuals were “Bangladeshis.”
A section of the evicted families joined the AAMSU protest. One affected woman spoke to the media, expressing anger over the perceived government duplicity.
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She highlighted that while the government evicted them from their homes on VGR land, it had previously provided them with essential services like electricity and drinking water connections at the same location.
“The government has evicted us from its land while it provided electricity and drinking water connections to our homes on the same government land,” she said.
Protesters also demanded equal reallocation of land for all evicted families, citing the precedent set by the reallocation of 1.5 kathas of land to 12 “indigenous” evicted households in the Chiring Chuk Christian VGR.
On July 3, the Lakhimpur district administration evicted 218 families from 288 bighas of land across Chiring Chuk Christian VGR, Debera VGR, and Phukanar Haat VGR. Following the evictions, the Lakhimpur district revenue department reallocated land to the 12 “indigenous” families.
On Friday, a similar protest march against the eviction drive was organized in North Lakhimpur by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS).