The Assam government on Saturday carried out a massive eviction drive in Sonitpur district to clear around 1,000 bighas of land to set up a 100MW solar plant.
Altogether 299 families — 243 Muslims and 56 Hindus — were allegedly staying on the encroached government land at Chitalmari 3 village under Borcolla constituency but most had left the place before the eviction started around 6am amid tight security.
“The eviction was peaceful and without any resistance because almost everyone had voluntarily vacated the government land they were occupying. We had started preparation from August 30. They knew from before because we had to put off the eviction drive in the past because of Covid-19 and early monsoon. Only 10 per cent of the structure was permanent, semi pucca. Most people dismantled their dwellings and took away what they could,” Sonitpur deputy commissioner Deba Kumar Mishra told The Telegraph.
