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Bhimajuli villagers still haunted by NDFB attack

By Shambhu Boro

TEZPUR, April 20 � The people of Bhimajuli, a small village located along the Assam-Arunachal border area about 50 km away from Biswanath Chariali town of Sonitpur district are still haunted by the memories of the night of October 4, 2009 when the anti-talk faction of NDFB killed altogether 12 villagers including a nine-year old child and they are worried of their fate as the authority concerned including the State government and local public representatives have not been able to check the insurgency problem and some land-related disputes in the area.

The Bhimajuli area is a habitat of different communities including Boro, Adivasi, Nepali and Karbi, located along the Assam-Arunachal border having no proper communication and modern facilities like electricity, health and hygiene and education system etc. Unfortunately, there is very little presence of administration in the area and even the local representative who is also a Cabinet Minister of the State government rarely visits the area.

�We are helpless as even after our repeated requests to the government and the local authority, no initiative has been taken for permanent security measures, following which we have remained a target of militants as we have no money to meet the extortion demand of the militants,� said Bhagat Gur lying still on the bed as he can�t move properly after sustaining a serious bullet injury on his foot in the NDFB attack on that fateful night of October 4, 2009. He added that the greater area which has been playing a vital role in the win of the local MLA and Fishery and Irrigation Minister Nurjamal Sarkar in his last three consecutive terms saw his visit just ahead of the Assembly poll to woo them in the election.

Meanwhile, this 35-year old unlucky man who was one and only income source of the family has become almost paralysed after the NDFB�s attack.

Expressing his total dissatisfaction over the government role in dealing with the issue, Bhagat Gur said that after the incident, though a minimum compensation was provided to the victim families of area, the �red-tapism� culture of the concerned offices has got them fed up, as they are still to get their compensation, which was declared by the government.

On the other hand, Surya Dahal who became an orphan in the same incident while talking to this reporter said that the ever-felt necessity of security should be given first priority rather than politicking in the name of dealing with the issue.

�Electricity facility, road communication for quick movement of police etc., is only a dream for the people of Bhimajuli. After the incident, though electric pillars were erected here, wiring and light connection etc., are yet to be done taking advantage of which militants still move here openly�, he said.

Altogether 200 families in the area earn their livelihood by daily wages, cultivation, firewood selling etc., and still get extortion demands from NDFB militants as the northern part is a free movement area for the anti-talk faction of the NDFB.

In this regard, one of the villagers who did not want to be named stated that the villagers have been urging the government to set up either a police outpost or an Army camp in the area but till date no result has been achieved.

�We the people of Bhimajuli area appeal to the government to either provide adequate security to us or to settle the NDFB problem through the peace talk process for permanent peace in interior and remote areas like Bhimajuli,� he maintained.

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