13 families evicted from railways land in city, 18 structures razed

Guwahati: The railways department on Friday conducted an eviction drive in the city’s Maligaon area to clear alleged illegal encroachment on railway land, which had been acquired in 1958 by the department. They also noted that a majority of the families evicted were Bengali-speaking Muslims.The drive was carried out at BG colony at Maligaon, clearing unauthorised settlements from the land. According to the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, the land was being illegally occupied for the past three to four years and action was taken after repeated notices were issued to the encroachers.“A total of 13 families residing in 18 illegal structures were evicted. As per a joint memorandum issued in accordance with a letter from the deputy chief engineer on Jan 5,” Sharma said.The CPRO added that during the eviction drive, the department was able to reclaim only four bighas of land, as several structures still remained in the area. He added that the operation was carried out under tight security and in accordance with due legal procedure in compliance with Section 5(2) of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.“The eviction operation began around 11 am and concluded at 2.45 pm. It was carried out in the presence of two magistrates — Nabajyoti Nath and Pranab Nath. Goshala OC and other police, CRPF, RPF personnel were also present. The eviction drive was completed peacefully,” Sharma said.Meanwhile, another railway department official said eviction drives would continue, adding that the railways owns extensive land parcels that could be utilised in the future as part of the Kamakhya railway station development project. “Initially, only a few families had settled on the land, but over time, they began marking plots with bamboo and then constructing homes. Despite eviction notices being issued, the families did not vacate the area, which led to the eviction drive.” the official added.