GUWAHATI: The All India Tribal Students Association, Assam (AITSAA) has urged the Centre to take initiatives for permanent relocation and settlement of over 1400 families of Laika and Dodhia villages under Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
A delegation of the association submitted a memorandum in this regard to Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, who was here in the city on Sunday to review the social welfare schemes of Assam.
“We demand immediate permanent settlement of the families belonging to the indigenous Mising community, and living in the flood and erosion-affected Laika and Dodhia villages under Dibru Saikhowa National Park,” the association stated in the memorandum.
It may be mentioned that protesters, including several women, have been camping in Tinsukia town for 21 days now, demanding immediate relocation and rehabilitation of the families in a suitable area of Tinsukia district.
Unfortunately, two women protesters, including a pregnant lady, have died due to illness and health complications even as the Laika-Dodhia Rehabilitation Committee, which has been spearheading the agitation, has been requesting the district administration for basic healthcare facilities and drinking water for the camp inmates.
The Assam government had on December 30, 2020, constituted a ten-member committee to find out ways for relocation and rehabilitation of the residents by the end of this month.
Accordingly, the committee has submitted its proposal to the state government on January 8, 2021, an official statement issued here on Monday said.