<p>Guwahati: Continuing it's eviction drive, BJP-led government in Assam have dismantled over 4,000 structures from Renga Reserve forest in Golaghat district in the past five days and cleared nearly 8,900 bighas of land. </p><p>"Over the course of five days, vast stretches of encroached forest land have been reclaimed, with illegal structures dismantled across key high-density zones including Bidyapur, Pithaghat, Sonaribeel, Doyalpur, Dolonipathar, Kherbari, Anandapur, and Madhupur," said a statement issued by the state government on Saturday night.</p><p>The eviction drive at Uriamghat areas along Assam-Nagaland border was launched on July 29 with a target to clear 11,000 bighas of forest land from alleged illegal settlers. Many settlers, mainly belonging to Bengali-speaking Muslims, had vacated their land following notices by the state forest department. Bulldozers were used to remove houses, shops and other structures since July 29.</p><p>Only the Muslim families have been evicted. Those belonging to Assamese, Nepali, Boro and other communities have not been evicted as many of them have forest rights certificates, an official said. </p><p><strong>Another drive</strong></p><p>Notices have been served on another 205 households in the Negheribil area under Merapani, located within the Doyang Reserve Forest, also in Golaghat district for eviction from August 8, said the statement. </p>.Rahul Gandhi anti-national, only supports Muslims of Bangladesh, Pakistan, alleges Assam CM Himanta.<p>Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that only the suspected Bangladeshis are being evicted under the ongoing drive. </p><p>"No eviction drive will be carried out against other communities," Sarma said. BJP considers the Bengali speaking Muslims as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Sarma claimed many of the Bengali-Muslims were not landless families but had homes in other districts.</p><p><strong>The drive under BJP</strong></p><p>The eviction at Uriamghat was the latest in the series of similar drives carried out in Dhubri and Goalpara districts in Lower Assam and in Lakhimpur district in North Assam. </p><p>CM Sarma recently said 160 square kilometers of land have been cleared from "encroachers" during eviction drives carried out since his government assumed office in May 2021. </p><p>Sarma said forest, wetlands, village grazing land and other government land had been illegally occupied by people belonging to a "particular religion" as part of plan for "demographic invasion" over the indigenous people in Assam. </p><p>Some eviction drive, however, turned violent following which at least five Bengali speaking Muslims were killed in police firing in Darrang, Kamrup Metro and Goalpara. </p><p>The Opposition parties claim that BJP-led government was targeting the Muslims as part of its polarisation tactics in the the run up to Assembly elections slated early next year. </p>
<p>Guwahati: Continuing it's eviction drive, BJP-led government in Assam have dismantled over 4,000 structures from Renga Reserve forest in Golaghat district in the past five days and cleared nearly 8,900 bighas of land. </p><p>"Over the course of five days, vast stretches of encroached forest land have been reclaimed, with illegal structures dismantled across key high-density zones including Bidyapur, Pithaghat, Sonaribeel, Doyalpur, Dolonipathar, Kherbari, Anandapur, and Madhupur," said a statement issued by the state government on Saturday night.</p><p>The eviction drive at Uriamghat areas along Assam-Nagaland border was launched on July 29 with a target to clear 11,000 bighas of forest land from alleged illegal settlers. Many settlers, mainly belonging to Bengali-speaking Muslims, had vacated their land following notices by the state forest department. Bulldozers were used to remove houses, shops and other structures since July 29.</p><p>Only the Muslim families have been evicted. Those belonging to Assamese, Nepali, Boro and other communities have not been evicted as many of them have forest rights certificates, an official said. </p><p><strong>Another drive</strong></p><p>Notices have been served on another 205 households in the Negheribil area under Merapani, located within the Doyang Reserve Forest, also in Golaghat district for eviction from August 8, said the statement. </p>.Rahul Gandhi anti-national, only supports Muslims of Bangladesh, Pakistan, alleges Assam CM Himanta.<p>Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that only the suspected Bangladeshis are being evicted under the ongoing drive. </p><p>"No eviction drive will be carried out against other communities," Sarma said. BJP considers the Bengali speaking Muslims as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Sarma claimed many of the Bengali-Muslims were not landless families but had homes in other districts.</p><p><strong>The drive under BJP</strong></p><p>The eviction at Uriamghat was the latest in the series of similar drives carried out in Dhubri and Goalpara districts in Lower Assam and in Lakhimpur district in North Assam. </p><p>CM Sarma recently said 160 square kilometers of land have been cleared from "encroachers" during eviction drives carried out since his government assumed office in May 2021. </p><p>Sarma said forest, wetlands, village grazing land and other government land had been illegally occupied by people belonging to a "particular religion" as part of plan for "demographic invasion" over the indigenous people in Assam. </p><p>Some eviction drive, however, turned violent following which at least five Bengali speaking Muslims were killed in police firing in Darrang, Kamrup Metro and Goalpara. </p><p>The Opposition parties claim that BJP-led government was targeting the Muslims as part of its polarisation tactics in the the run up to Assembly elections slated early next year. </p>