The Assam government will launch a major eviction drive on 1,200 bighas (about 397 acres) of allegedly encroached land in the Nagaon district. The exercise will be conducted from December 19 in and around Batadrava, the holy birthplace of Srimanta Shankardeva, and is likely to last for several days.
According to sources, more than 700 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the Greater Batadrava area and mobilization of forces has been ongoing for the past 3-4 days. The state government has also ordered the nearby Morigaon district to cooperate during the operation.
District administration officials claimed that notices were sent to around 1,000 alleged squatter families in October, asking them to vacate the land. The civil administration and the police are taking all necessary measures to carry out the evacuation operation peacefully without any untoward incident, officials said in their statement.
