In order to remove alleged encroachment from some 6,200 bighas, or almost 830 hectares, of land inside the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, the Assam government finished an eviction drive on Tuesday, impacting 710 families, according to officials.
According to Sonitpur District Commissioner Ananda Kumar Das, the eviction drive was finished on Tuesday night in order to remove encroached forest land that was scattered throughout the districts of Sonitpur and Nagaon. The campaign started early on January 5.
Within the protected wildlife sanctuary, almost 6,200 bighas of forest land had been illegally inhabited by nearly 710 families. "The administration successfully evicted all illegal occupants and freed the encroached land during the two-day operation," Das stated.
A number of areas under the Tezpur Sadar and Dhekiajuli revenue circles, including Jamuktol, Arimari, Siyalichar, Baghetapu, Galatidubi, Lathimari, Kundulichar, Purba Dubramari, and Batulichar, were evicted.
"After the clearance of about 40 per cent of the land from the clutches of land encroachers, the Sonitpur district administration launched the eviction operation in the remaining land," a different official stated.
According to officials, the suspected intruders had constructed homes and grown crops within the Burhachapari Wildlife Sanctuary.
Due to the extreme cold, many residents of the area stayed behind and asked the government to grant them more time to harvest their crops, but the majority of them demolished their homes on their own and transported household goods to other locations.
"Despite the encroachers' request not to evict them in the ongoing winter season, they will not be excused by administration from the ongoing eviction drive as they were illegally staying in the forest areas," Das stated.
According to Barun Purakayastha, Senior Superintendent of Police in Sonitpur, all encroached areas were cleansed without any unfavorable incidents.
Over 300 police officers were deployed for the two-day operation as part of a strict security plan. According to officials, 60 tractors and 36 excavators were utilized to ensure a seamless eviction.
The effort is one of Assam's biggest eviction campaigns in recent memory. About 12,800 people were impacted when the authorities cleared 2,099 hectares of land in the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and neighboring communities in February of last year.
When claimed illegal squatters returned and tried to retake the evicted land, a confrontation between forest guards and alleged encroachers occurred in the sanctuary in July of last year, resulting in one fatality and at least seven injuries.
The Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra and spans 44.06 square kilometers. It is situated roughly 40 kilometers south of Tezpur town and 180 kilometers east of Guwahati.
As a designated buffer zone of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, the protected forest is an essential component of the Laokhowa Burhachapori ecosystem.
One-horned rhinoceroses, tigers, leopards, wild buffalo, hog deer, wild pigs, and elephants can all be found in the sanctuary.
The extremely endangered Bengal florican, black-necked stork, mallard, open-billed stork, teal, and whistling duck are among the birds that call it home.
Since 1974, Burhachapori has been a reserve forest under the Sonitpur district forest department. In July 1995, it was designated as a wildlife sanctuary.
