GUWAHATI, Aug 5 � Expressing concern over the recent violence in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD), Asom Suraksha Oikya Mancha blamed the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the State Government and the Centre for failing to address the root causes that had led to the large-scale violence.
In a statement, the Mancha said that the violence had its genesis in encroachment of land by illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which caused � apart from loss of lives and property � erosion of the bond of trust and harmony among the ethnic communities.
The Mancha demanded that the Government detect and deport the illegal migrants besides clearing all the encroached land in the BTAD.
The Mancha which had a discussion on the issue at a recent meeting also suggested that the BTC Act of 2008 be amended so as to exclude the adjoining areas largely inhabited by non-Bodo indigenous people, as distinguished from the illegal migrants, and also to attain the twin objectives of safeguarding the interests of the Bodos and the non-Bodos in the adjoining areas.
The Mancha further called for amending the provisions incorporated in the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886, with regard to the provisions made for settlement of land in the tribal belts/tribal areas for ensuring full safety and security to the tribal and non-tribal indigenous communities living in the adjoining areas.
By another resolution, the Mancha urged the State Government to take immediate and effective steps in providing relief and rehabilitation to the people affected by the violence besides. It also called for restoring confidence among the people through appropriative preventive measures to check any such ethnic or communal flare-up in future.
