Guwahati: Hundreds of residents from Basalguri, Shilgara and Malgaon villages in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district staged a protest on Monday against the proposed eviction of indigenous Koch Rajbongshi families, alleging that their land would be handed over to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) and the Adani Group for a thermal plant project.
Raising slogans of “Will give blood, won’t give land,” the protesters accused the Assam government of attempting to dispossess indigenous communities from land they have occupied for generations.
The demonstration was organised by the All Kokrajhar East District Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union and the All Dhubri East District Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union.
The protesters alleged that the proposed eviction was being carried out “deceitfully” and expressed fears of becoming homeless if the land acquisition goes ahead. They claimed that the land and homes of indigenous Koch Rajbongshi families were being taken away in the name of development and industrialisation.
Addressing the gathering, All Dhubri East District Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union president Bitul Barman and All Kokrajhar East District Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union president Phanin Dutta Bakra strongly opposed the alleged plans of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and the Assam government.
The two leaders said they would not allow indigenous Koch Rajbongshi families to be displaced from their ancestral land under any circumstances.
“This is our land and our home. We will shed blood, but we will not give up our land even at the cost of our lives,” the leaders said, urging the BTC administration and the Assam government to immediately withdraw the alleged decision to acquire the land.
The protesters also demanded that elected representatives from the Baokhungri BTC constituency and the Baokhungri Assembly constituency visit the affected villages and hold discussions with residents over their concerns.
Warning of intensified agitation, the student bodies said they would launch a sustained democratic movement if authorities attempted to forcibly acquire the land. They also held the BTC administration and the Assam government responsible for any untoward situation arising out of the issue.
A large police contingent led by a Kokrajhar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and the officer-in-charge of Kokrajhar Sadar Police Station was deployed at Basalguri village during the protest to maintain law and order.
Despite the heavy security presence, the demonstration remained peaceful, with villagers taking out a protest rally before concluding the programme without any reports of violence.
Later, Kokrajhar Revenue Circle Officer and Executive Magistrate Daradi Debroy visited the protest site and assured the demonstrators that their grievances would be conveyed to the BTC administration, the Assam government and local public representatives. Following the assurance, the protesters dispersed peacefully.