Assam: Protesters rally in Margherita against government's eviction drive

Residents and villagers of Jagun Namphai took a stand against the Assam government's eviction actions by organizing a sit-in protest at the Margherita Sub-Divisional Magistrate's office. The demonstration, led by the All Assam Sonowal Kachari Students' Union and supported by various ethnic groups, aimed to voice their opposition to the government's eviction on the agricultural land of the people residing in Arunodaya Sonowal village.

On June 19, protesters marched from North Margherita Rangamancha, converging in front of the Margherita Sub-Divisional Magistrate's office. There, they staged a sit-in and submitted a memorandum through the Margherita Sub-Divisional Public Relations Officer, outlining four crucial demands.

The memorandum highlighted the urgent need to halt the ongoing eviction drive imposed by the Assam government on the agricultural land of the residents in Jagun Namphai Arunodaya Sonowal village. Additionally, it called for the protection of livestock stranded at the eviction site, among other demands aimed at safeguarding the rights and well-being of the affected community.

One of the protestors expressed their dismay, saying, "On June 16, the Assam government abruptly evicted the residents of Namphai Arunodaya Sonowal village. The villagers were forced to leave without any prior notice, despite having been recognized as flood-affected victims in 1999 and provided with land by the government. It is deeply unfortunate and disheartening that the same Assam government is now attempting to evict the indigenous people of Assam."