Digboi: A British-era air raid bunker in Assam’s Digboi, built during the Second World War when the oil town acquired strategic importance, has reportedly been occupied by a family since 1967, despite being located within the jurisdiction of the Assam Oil Division (AOD).
The bunker stands behind Sishu Bengali Prathmik Vidyalay near the AOD Digboi Club area, about 1.5 km from Digboi Police Station and the Army base camp. Surrounded by bushes and green hillocks, the structure extends both above and below ground and remains substantially intact.
A recent field visit by Northeast Now found that the bunker has received little attention despite several other wartime bunkers and air raid shelters in Digboi emerging as sites of interest for tourists, students and researchers.
There is no visible indication of any initiative by AOD or other concerned government departments to formally document, conserve or restore the structure or assess its potential heritage value.
The family currently occupying the bunker has reportedly lived there for nearly six decades.
The present head of the family told NeNow that he was born in 1969 and that his family had been living at the site since before his birth. He said his uncle, Manik Banerjee, who worked in the Postal Department at the time, began living there.
The occupant also claimed that neither AOD nor the Circle Department accepts land revenue from the family despite repeated attempts to pay it. He said he possessed documents relating to the family’s occupation of the property.
These claims could not be independently verified.
An AOD Land Section official contacted by NeNow acknowledged the existence of the underground bunker but said he was unaware of its reported occupation by a family.
The official said wartime structures of this nature could potentially be used by military forces during a war-like situation, depending on the circumstances.
The bunker is one of several wartime structures that have survived in Digboi. Other bunkers and air raid shelters at locations such as Golf Links, the Centenary Museum, oil-field areas, Tipam Road and Golai Terminal have attracted tourists, students and history enthusiasts.
The structure behind the school, however, has received comparatively little attention as part of the town’s wartime heritage.
Digboi’s history is closely linked to the British-era oil industry, and the town acquired strategic importance during the Second World War. Several wartime structures have survived in and around the town.
The reported occupation of the bunker raises questions about its present ownership and legal status, as well as its condition and historical significance.
A survey of surviving World War II bunkers and air raid shelters in Digboi could help authorities establish an inventory of such structures and assess their condition.
Such an assessment could also clarify the status of the bunker, the circumstances of its reported occupation and whether conservation or controlled public access is appropriate.