GUWAHATI, July 31 � The Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram today assured the inmates of the relief camps in Dhubri district that they would soon be rehabilitated with adequate security.
Chidambaram, accompanied by the Minister-in-charge of the Department for Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) Paban Singh Ghatowar visited the relief camps set up in Borkandi and Lakhiganj under Bilasipara sub-division in Dhubri district to take stock of the situation and spoke to the inmates to know their feelings.
The Union Home Minister also addressed the inmates of the relief camps and asked them to be mentally prepared to get back to their homes as the Government would soon take steps to rehabilitate them. He said that armed pickets would be provided to the vulnerable areas so that no miscreant can cause any disturbance in those areas.
Chidambaram also appealed to all political parties and organizations to help the Government to rehabilitate the people displaced in the ethnic riots. His speeches before the inmates of the relief camps were translated by Ghatowar.
The Union Home Minister also instructed the officials of the district administration, police and security forces to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in the relief camps and said that adequate care of the inmates should be taken.
The Union Home Minister, who visited Kokrajhar yesterday, flew back to New Delhi after visiting the relief camps in Dhubri today.
It may be mentioned here that though Dhubri district has not been directly affected by ethnic violence in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) areas, a large number of persons displaced by the riots in Kokrajhar have shifted to Dhubri and most of them have been provided shelter in the Bilasipara sub-division.
Official sources said that more than 1.75 lakh people displaced by the riots are staying in 39 relief camps in Dhubri district and adequate security cover has been provided to the relief camps so that no miscreant can cause problems there. Additional security personnel have been moved to Dhubri for domination of the vulnerable areas, particularly the areas bordering Kokrajhar district. Fixed pickets have been provided in the Bodo villages in the district.
The district witnessed some disturbance on July 23 when the AAMSU had called for a bandh against violence in Kokrajhar, but the situation improved immediately after the arrival of additional forces.
