GUWAHATI, May 11 ? The Forest Department with cooperation from the district administration and police, today resumed the eviction drive in the Batahghuli forest area in the outskirts of the area from early this morning and official sources asserted that the drive would continue in the next few days. After receiving stiff resistance from the people on May 9, the forest officials along with magistrates and police launched the drive at 6 am today and in the whole day, about 140 houses including a number of concrete structures, were demolished. Three elephants were also pressed into service to demolish houses.
Officials sources said that the drive went on peacefully today, perhaps because of a large number of police and Central Reserve Police force personnel. The City Superintendent of police and senior officials of the district administration were present all throughout the day and the encroachers did not offer any resistance. In fact, some people even removed their belongings on their own before the arrival of the eviction teams. However, the eviction teams also came across a number of empty houses as the people left the place after the clash on May 9. Sources said that about 6,000 hectares of forest land in the Batahghuli area was under encroachment and it would take at least two more days to evict all the encroachers as per the Supreme Court directive of evicting the encroachers from the forest areas.
Commenting on the allegation that some houses belonging to those having permanent settlements were also demolished, official sources said that no one can be given permanent settlement in forest areas. Sources said that some people had the misunderstanding that by paying the tauzi khazana, that is the fine imposed for staying in Government or reserved land, they can get permanent settlement. It may be mentioned here that one person was killed in police firing while several others including a magistrate and a few police and CRPF men were injured in a clash between the eviction party and encroachers on May 9.
Meanwhile, Save Guwahati, Build Guwahati has welcomed the eviction drive. The president of the organisation, Sri Dhiren Baruah said that eviction of the encroachers is a must to save the city. The Eco-Conservation Society, Assam has stressed the need for evicting the encroachers from the Reserved Forest areas to maintain the ecological balance. The society also called upon the political leaders not to encourage encroachment of the forest areas. In a release here today, the secretary of the society, Sri Biplabananda Choudhury said that despite a Supreme Court order in 1996, unabated felling of trees is going on in the North-Eastern States, particularly Assam, posing a serious threat to the ecological balance. The Society demanded immediate steps to check unabated felling of trees and encroachment of the forests before the situation goes out of control.
The Society expressed concern at the violent resistance offered by the people during an eviction drive in the Batahghuli area in the outskirts of the city and pointed out that similar incidents happened during an eviction drive in the Nameri National Park recently when a camp of the forest department personnel were burnt down. The Society also pointed out that encroachment of the hills caused serious ecological imbalance in Guwahati city and the city is facing serious water logging problem primarily because of the encroachment of the hills. The Society pointed out that some political parties were issuing statements in favour of the encroachers and urged upon all the political parties to desist from such acts.