Assam begins eviction drive to clear encroached forest land on Nagaland boundary
The Rengma Reserve Forest, where the first phase of the drive was carried out on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), shares a boundary with Nagaland.
A large contingent of police and Assam Forest Protection Force personnel, along with more than 150 excavators, were deployed in the area, anticipating violence. Officials said the exercise passed off peacefully, as a majority of the illegal settlers had vacated the area after receiving notices from the government
Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who was at the site, told presspersons that shops and houses built in the reserve forest areas were demolished.
'We provided adequate police protection, and the locals are supporting the exercise. The law and order situation is under control,' he said.
'More than 20% cleared'
A Forest Department official in the district said more than 20% of the reserve forest has been cleared of encroachment so far. 'The encroachers started leaving a few days ago when it was conveyed to them that they cannot stay inside the reserve forest any longer,' he said.
Some 15,000 people, mostly migrant Muslims, were living in the reserve forest after turning vast swathes of the land into betel nut plantations.
The eviction drive followed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's visit to Uriamghat recently.
'People of Assam are victims of the mass-scale encroachment, demographic alteration, and violence, which is caused by illegal settlers. They are firmly behind our Govt in our crackdown against encroachment and realise the need to reclaim what's truly ours,' he posted on social media platform X.
The security forces in Assam have been wary of a bid by extremists in Nagaland to take over the cleared forest, claiming it to be an ancestral Naga area. Assam and Nagaland have a decades-old boundary dispute that has claimed more than 150 lives.
'Move to grab land of Nagas'
On Monday, the Niki Sumi faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland stated that the eviction drive was a 'well-planned' move by the Assam government to grab the lands of the Nagas. It accused successive Assam governments of first encouraging 'illegal Bangladeshi immigrants' to settle in forests along the interstate border and then evicting them to grab the lands of the Nagas.
The eviction drive at Uriamghat is one of a series of such operations since June. More than 55,000 people, mostly Muslims with roots in present-day Bangladesh, have been evicted from forestlands, grazing lands, and government revenue lands in Dhubri, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, and Nalbari districts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bihar MP Pappu Yadav: ‘We want Nitish ji to stay strong but BJP does not want him to .. He should return to Mahagathbandhan'
Associated with the Congress party, independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, has been an outspoken leader in Bihar politics. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress. However, he had to contest from Purnea as an Independent after he could not get the Congress's ticket with the seat going to its senior ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) under their Mahagathbandhan alliance. However, he still managed to win the seat by defeating the Janata Dal (United) candidate, becoming an MP for the sixth time. In an interview with The Indian Express, Pappu Yadav, 57, speaks on a range of issues related to the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. Excerpts: As a worker who takes our leader Rahul Gandhi's vision to the people… Bihar is in a very bad condition. Three crore people have migrated. And there has been no capital investment in the state in the last 30-40 years. Not a single factory has been set up. Our state has the highest potential for food processing, but no one talks about it. All the leaders. No one has the will-power. They just want to stay in power. As a man, Nitish ji is a good person; he is honest. But everyone around Nitish ji is dishonest. An 'Inspector Raj' was in effect. The officers (bureaucrats) ran Nitish ji's government. Everyone looted. The BJP never wanted Nitish ji (as CM). Nitish ji still has a secular image today. But the way things are, Muslims feel that Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Nitish Kumar have stabbed in the back by supporting the NDA government on the amended Waqf law. This has caused them the most pain. When our leader (Rahul Gandhi) demands 65% reservation and caste census, Nitish ji becomes silent. Without Nitish ji, BJP has no value in Bihar and a BJP government cannot be formed. Now the EBC (Extremely Backward Classes) have understood that the BJP has finished their leader (Nitish). So, the EBC, ST, SC, OBC votes are shifting towards the Congress. We have to take the alliance along. Without the perspective of the Congress, you cannot do anything. People in Bihar are moving towards the Congress. I do not know anything about this. I am nowhere. Only our leader will tell. Who is there to ask Pappu Yadav? I am just an ordinary worker. I am not entitled to speak on that. We will fight and win the election on our leader (Rahul Gandhi)'s vision and make the INDIA bloc win. If you eliminate the votes of STs, SCs, and EBCs in this manner, there will be a very bad impact on elections. There is no question of political loss. The question is of rights being snatched. We will not allow it to be erased. JMM should definitely be included…(On AIMIM) tell me one thing… We speak against the RSS, and there is another ideology that only talks about its own. They (AIMIM) is only concerned about their quam (community). You should talk about the Constitution. What impact did he have? The first time he came, he went to work in Amethi. He then went with Modi ji. He then went to Nitish ji, Mamata, came to Congress… He got a vanity van… sleeps in AC and says, 'I am touring' and that he will become the chief minister. The EBCs, STs, SCs, OBCs and minorities in Bihar have developed a hunger for politics. In Bihar, only an EBC, ST, or SC will be the Chief Minister. No one else can be. It would not happen for the next 50 years at least. The political hunger has awakened in the country. 90% of the people are from these suppressed communities, so why should the other 10% always rule? If we move together on Rahul Gandhi ji's vision, bring Hemant ji (Soren), and strengthen the alliance even more, don't let anyone leave, and avoid ego clashes – those who are keen to become Chief Minister they must understand such things… that if we follow Rahul Gandhi's vision, everyone will support us and the Mahagathbandhan will win… then no one can stop the INDIA alliance. The BJP is the biggest threat itself. BJP survives only because of Nitish Kumar. The prevailing situation is not good. We want Nitish ji to stay strong but BJP does not want him to. Yes, he should come to the alliance. Because the BJP will stab him in the back. Personally, I respect Nitish ji. It is not just me. Our leaders respect him too.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Bihar MP Pappu Yadav: ‘Mahagathbandhan could win on Rahul's vision, those keen to be CM must understand it'
Associated with the Congress party, independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, has been an outspoken leader in Bihar politics. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress. However, he had to contest from Purnea as an Independent after he could not get the Congress's ticket with the seat going to its senior ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) under their Mahagathbandhan alliance. However, he still managed to win the seat by defeating the Janata Dal (United) candidate, becoming an MP for the sixth time. In an interview with The Indian Express, Pappu Yadav, 57, speaks on a range of issues related to the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. Excerpts: As a worker who takes our leader Rahul Gandhi's vision to the people… Bihar is in a very bad condition. Three crore people have migrated. And there has been no capital investment in the state in the last 30-40 years. Not a single factory has been set up. Our state has the highest potential for food processing, but no one talks about it. All the leaders. No one has the will-power. They just want to stay in power. As a man, Nitish ji is a good person; he is honest. But everyone around Nitish ji is dishonest. An 'Inspector Raj' was in effect. The officers (bureaucrats) ran Nitish ji's government. Everyone looted. The BJP never wanted Nitish ji (as CM). Nitish ji still has a secular image today. But the way things are, Muslims feel that Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Nitish Kumar have stabbed in the back by supporting the NDA government on the amended Waqf law. This has caused them the most pain. When our leader (Rahul Gandhi) demands 65% reservation and caste census, Nitish ji becomes silent. Without Nitish ji, BJP has no value in Bihar and a BJP government cannot be formed. Now the EBC (Extremely Backward Classes) have understood that the BJP has finished their leader (Nitish). So, the EBC, ST, SC, OBC votes are shifting towards the Congress. We have to take the alliance along. Without the perspective of the Congress, you cannot do anything. People in Bihar are moving towards the Congress. I do not know anything about this. I am nowhere. Only our leader will tell. Who is there to ask Pappu Yadav? I am just an ordinary worker. I am not entitled to speak on that. We will fight and win the election on our leader (Rahul Gandhi)'s vision and make the INDIA bloc win. If you eliminate the votes of STs, SCs, and EBCs in this manner, there will be a very bad impact on elections. There is no question of political loss. The question is of rights being snatched. We will not allow it to be erased. JMM should definitely be included…(On AIMIM) tell me one thing… We speak against the RSS, and there is another ideology that only talks about its own. They (AIMIM) is only concerned about their quam (community). You should talk about the Constitution. What impact did he have? The first time he came, he went to work in Amethi. He then went with Modi ji. He then went to Nitish ji, Mamata, came to Congress… He got a vanity van… sleeps in AC and says, 'I am touring' and that he will become the chief minister. The EBCs, STs, SCs, OBCs and minorities in Bihar have developed a hunger for politics. In Bihar, only an EBC, ST, or SC will be the Chief Minister. No one else can be. It would not happen for the next 50 years at least. The political hunger has awakened in the country. 90% of the people are from these suppressed communities, so why should the other 10% always rule? If we move together on Rahul Gandhi ji's vision, bring Hemant ji (Soren), and strengthen the alliance even more, don't let anyone leave, and avoid ego clashes – those who are keen to become Chief Minister they must understand such things… that if we follow Rahul Gandhi's vision, everyone will support us and the Mahagathbandhan will win… then no one can stop the INDIA alliance. The BJP is the biggest threat itself. BJP survives only because of Nitish Kumar. The prevailing situation is not good. We want Nitish ji to stay strong but BJP does not want him to. Yes, he should come to the alliance. Because the BJP will stab him in the back. Personally, I respect Nitish ji. It is not just me. Our leaders respect him too.
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
BJP wants exclusion of 10% Muslim quota from BC list
Hyderabad: Telangana State BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Saturday demanded that the Congress government provide 42 per cent reservations specifically for the Backward Classes (BC) community, without allocating any shares to other communities. Speaking at a dharna organised by the BJP OBC Morcha at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, Rao urged the Congress government to exclude the 10 per cent reservations for Muslims from the 42 per cent BC reservations list, asserting that the BJP opposes religion-based reservations. A large number of party workers attended the dharna, which was held to demand the implementation of the Kamareddy BC declaration. The Congress party had promised to provide 42 per cent reservations for the BC community. Rao criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's government for politicising the issue of BC reservations by organising protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. He argued that the Congress party has been unable to enact the 42 per cent reservation policy and has instead blamed the central government to mask its failures. He demanded that Revanth Reddy apologise to the Backward Classes for not fulfilling his promises. Rao asserted that the BJP is the only party dedicated to the welfare of backward classes (BCs). He highlighted that the party is led by a BC leader, Narendra Modi, who serves as Prime Minister. Additionally, there are 27 BC leaders in his cabinet and five BC leaders serving as Chief Ministers in states governed by the BJP. The Congress party has never appointed a BC leader as Chief Minister in united Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. He pointed out that the Karnataka government promised reservations for BCs before the assembly elections but failed to uphold those commitments. Similarly, he claimed that the Revanth Reddy government is raising the issue of BC reservations right before the local body elections, but is unlikely to fulfil its promises. 'Let CM Revanth Reddy explain how much money he has spent on the welfare of BCs in the state so far,' questioned the BJP chief. Rao appealed to the BC community to support the BJP, which he emphasised is fighting for justice for their community. Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajender stated that the Congress promised 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies, education, and jobs during the BC Declaration in Kamareddy. However, under the BRS rule, this reservation has been reduced to 23 per cent, betraying the BC community. Revanth Reddy has failed to fulfil his promises, including the commitment to implement 42 per cent BC reservations and conduct elections within six months. The BCs feel deceived, and Revanth Reddy's lack of integrity has been exposed. Additionally, promises were made regarding fee reimbursements for BC students, interest-free loans for BC youth, and increased pensions, none of which have materialised. The government has not released pending arrears, forcing families into debt. While a commission was formed for BC statistics, it lacks legal recognition, unlike Tamil Nadu's effective commission that operates under Article 340 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, he added. In contrast, the BJP has appointed OBC ministers and achieved significant leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is well-regarded nationwide. The reality is that as long as the BRS and Congress exist, progress for BC leaders will remain stagnant. It is crucial for people to differentiate between those who merely promise and those who deliver.
