Tezpur: Assam government is very clear about its eviction policy and keeping sync with its framework the state government kick started its eviction drive at Orang National Park on Sunday as it has been noticed that the animal corridor has been encroached upon by few unscrupulous elements.

Official sources said that this eviction drive will continue for four days. Initially it will be conducted at Sonitpur and later the eviction drive will be conducted in Darrang district.

It needs to be stated here that the Orang National Park is spread over an area of 89 sq km in Sonitpur and Darrang districts and the eviction exercise is being carried out to clear “encroached” land for an animal corridor to Kaziranga National Park.

“Eviction drive was carried out in five char areas today and it will be done in another four such spots on Monday. The drive went off smoothly today,” said the deputy commissioner of Sonitpur Deba Kumar Mishra.

Mishra said that around 800 families allegedly made the animal corridor land as their permanent base. “We have a clear policy against encroachment and the administration is working accordingly,” Mishra said.

Over 13,000 acre in the National Park is targeted to be cleared during the operation, of which more than 6,800 acre are in Sonitpur.

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led regime in Assam has been carrying out eviction exercises in the state after assuming power in May 2021.

On February 15, in Digboi of Tinsukia district in upper Assam, security personnel resorted to lathi charge when alleged encroachers of railway land pelted stones to prevent an eviction drive there.

On the same day, the Barpeta district administration carried out an eviction drive in Bhabanipur area to clear nearly 300 hectare belonging to Gopal Dev Aata Satra (Vaishnavite monastery).

In Pava Reserve Forest under Lakhimpur district, the administration started an eviction drive to clear 450 hectare of encroached land on January 10, which continued for several days, displacing around 500 families of “illegal settlers”.

The drive in Nagoan’s Batadrava on December 19 was billed as one of the largest in the region as it uprooted more than 5,000 alleged encroachers.

It was followed by another exercise on December 26 to clear 400 bighas in Barpeta. Setting aside opposition criticism, the chief minister had on December 21 last year told the state Assembly that eviction drives to clear government and forest lands in Assam would continue as long as the BJP is in power.