Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Para has submitted a Private Member’s Bill seeking regularisation and recognition of property rights of residents on public land as a one-time special measure, saying it will save homes and shelters and “reduce fear of eviction.”
"My son would have been home by this time. He would be hungry by now. But my son is not coming home anymore," 55-year-old Shahar Banu kept repeating, crying inconsolably around 12 noon on Friday.
38-year-old Safik Ali is living in constant worry and fear in Nanke Daranga village, located in Baksa district of Assam. For nearly 60 years, his family has called this place home, but now they face an uncertain future. The source of Safik's distress is a notice from the district's forest department, ordering them to vacate their homes within a mere 15 days.
A Muslim woman, identified as Rahima Khatun was killed in gunfire by forest guards on Monday in Assam’s Burha Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary after a clash between people who had been evicted from the area and forest department officials.
In Assam's Lakhimpur district, the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government has evicted around 500 families, alleging that they have encroached on forest land. Most of those who were forcibly evicted are Bengali-speaking Muslims who live on the 10,000 acres that are part of the Pabha Reserve Forest.