Guwahati: Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) has termed the displace-ment of about 3,00,000 conflict-affected Adivasis in Assam in the wake of December 23 attack by Bodo
militant outfit, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit faction), as the largest conflict induced Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the world in 2014.
The ACHR director Suhas Chakma informed that a fact-finding team of the ACHR found on December 27 that about 3,00.000 panic-gripped and conflicts ravaged Adivasi IDPs were reeling under a man-made humanitarian crisis in 85 relief camps in four districts of Assam — Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Udalguri and Chirang.
The IDPs, mainly Adivasis, fled their homes following massacre of over 70 Adivasis by the NDFB-S militants on 23 December 2014 in parts of Sonitpur, Kokrajhar and Chirang
districts of Assam..
The ACHR has called upon Assam government to fully extend humanitarian assistance including access to adequate shelter, food, utensils, baby food, clothes, health care, water facility, toilets, etc to all the displaced persons irrespec-tive of whether their villages were directly attacked or not by the NDFB(S); rehabilitate the displaced persons by providing adequate assistance such as housing assistance per family, food rations for six months; ensure that no relief camp is forcibly closed down and inmates are not forced to leave the relief camps; and provide security to the IDPs voluntarily willing to return to their villages with a clear programme of action including deployment of security forces to ensure non-recurrence of such heinous attacks.
The ACHR team assisted by Adivasi civil society organisations visited the affected areas on December 27 last 2014 and the team had limited access as curfew was imposed in Sonitpur and Udalguri districts, and the police did not allow visit to the interior places for security reasons. The Team visited Jiagabharu High School Relief Camp, Hugrajuli Relief Camp and Tinisuti Relief Camp.
The State government failed to provide relief including warm clothes, baby food, safe drinking water and no provisions
for pregnant women and lactating mothers while some food items were supplied by local public and organisations. Sanitation and hygiene are almost non-existent.
Meanwhile, Assam government has claimed that the state of affairs in relief camps had improved a lot during the last few days. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) P K Tiwari has informed that the number of relief camps continued to decrease.
Ten camps were closed down in 3 districts .of Udalguri, Sonitpur & Kokrajhar since December 31. Total 8,849 camps inmates left for their villages during the period.
As on January 1, approximately 2,36,349 persons in four districts- Kokrajhar, Chirang, Sonitpur & Udalguri – were sheltered in 118 relief camps. In Kokrajhar district approximately 1,97,189 inmates are living in 81 relief camps, in Chirang 29,746 inmates are in 23 relief camps , in Sonitpur, 5,822 inmates are in 6 relief camps and in Udalguri, 3,592 inmates are in 8 relief camps.