307 families exit Nonke Japoriguri VGR in Biswanath ahead of August 17 eviction
Families claim flood, erosion uprooted them; they settled in Japoriguri after buying land decades ago
People destroy their houses & leave before eviction drive in Biswanath Chariali. (AT Photo)
Bishwanath, August 16: Ahead of the eviction drive scheduled for August 17, around 307 families in Nonke Japoriguri, Biswanath district, have vacated about 175 bighas of government village grazing reserve (VGR) land that they had occupied for decades.
Acting on notices from the district administration, the families themselves pulled down houses built on the encroached land and shifted their belongings out of the area.
The affected families, who claim to have been displaced by floods and erosion in places like Balidubi, said they had purchased portions of the Nonke Japoriguri land at nominal rates nearly 40–45 years ago.
Many had erected makeshift houses and gradually settled there. While they have now expressed willingness to cooperate with the administration, they have urged the government to provide proper rehabilitation.
“We lost our land to erosion and had nowhere else to go, so we came here. We paid money to locals and built our homes, living here for decades. But after the notice came, we demolished our houses ourselves. We are ready to leave, but the government must provide rehabilitation and relief, because we are already victims of floods and erosion,” said one resident.
Another resident said, “We have lived here for 25 years and have documents proving we are residents of Assam. After the eviction notice, we vacated voluntarily. Some families have returned to their original villages, while others are looking for shelter elsewhere. But without government support, we are now homeless.”
For now, many families are living under tarpaulin sheets in the same locality, awaiting rehabilitation measures.
“We are not against the government’s order, but we request the authorities to recognise our suffering. We want a place to live with dignity,” said Mohammad Mirja Ali, one of the displaced.
The eviction notice for the Japoriguri settlement remains valid until August 16. Thereafter, the administration plans to move in with bulldozers to clear the land.
While no specific rehabilitation plan has been announced yet, the affected families remain hopeful their appeal for relief will be considered.
Earlier on August 1, the Biswanath district administration had issued the eviction notices, directing them to vacate government land reportedly occupied without authorisation.
The notice also includes the removal of a mosque and a burial ground that are said to be located within the encroached land.