KOKRAJHAR, Aug 9 � Simmering tension continues to haunt all the districts of BTAD even as the inmates of the relief camps voiced their concern against the Government�s decision to set a deadline for their exit from the camps and return to their villages.
On the other hand, the government machinery seems to be having a tough time in managing a number of relief camps, which according to sources, are showing a fluctuating trend as far as the number of inmates is concerned.
Although, barring last night�s incident of fire in Chirang, no major incident of violence has been reported in the last two days, a large section of inmates believes that the Government, by setting a deadline, is sending a negative signal towards the affected people, who are yet to get over from the tragedy they had suffered.
�This is not the right time to set an exit deadline. The Government is adding to our fear. Nobody likes to stay at the relief camps away from their homes but we are without any option. We heard that August 15 is the deadline for us, but can the Government ensure that no life will be lost after that,� said Samar Narzary, an inmate of a camp set up at Gossaigaon Girls� High School, which at present houses around 3,000 inmates.
�I, on behalf of all the inmates, would like to appeal to the Government not to force us to leave. Several officials of the district administration are asking us to leave. I want to tell the Chief Minister that we are ready to leave only when he can assure us safety,� the 50-year-old Narzary said.
Gossaigaon is one of the worst-affected areas of the BTAD. The ethnic clashes that broke out in BTAD areas has so far claimed 73 lives, besides leaving thousands of families homeless.
The Government had earlier appealed to the least affected inmates to decongest the camps. The Chief Minister had announced August 15 as a tentative deadline.
The situation appears to be no different for the inmates of the Basugaon Higher Secondary School camp, situated approximately 80 km away from Gossaigaon.
