Nearly 100 families were uprooted on December 5 as the Nagaon district administration carried out a major eviction drive to clear what it described as long-standing encroachment on government land in Bhakatgaon under Samaguri. Officials said the operation covered 38 bighas—about 13 acres—of land that had reportedly been occupied since the 1990s.
District Commissioner Devashish Sharma stated that most households vacated the area on their own after receiving eviction notices issued around 15 days earlier. The remaining residents were removed on Friday as part of the final phase of the clearance. Authorities later declared the entire stretch fully cleared.
Sharma added that similar drives will continue in the coming weeks, with several zones already identified for the next phase of action. These include Salanibari, Ahom Gaon, Tuktuki, Roumari Beach, Mairadhwaj, Bechamari, Shalmabari and Akharbari Gelekni Beach, all of which have been marked for removal of alleged encroachments.
The large-scale eviction is part of the state government’s ongoing crackdown on what it terms illegal occupation of government and forest land—a campaign that began in 2021 under the Himanta Biswa Sarma administration. The drives have drawn significant attention, particularly because many of those affected belong to Bengali-speaking Muslim communities.
Earlier on November 3, Chief Minister Sarma reiterated that eviction exercises would continue, remarking that there could be “no peace” for what he referred to as “illegal Miyas” under his government. While the term “Miya” has historically been used as a slur for Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, it has in recent years been reclaimed by members of the community as an assertion of identity.
The latest eviction in Nagaon adds to a series of operations across the state, underscoring the administration’s firm stance on land-related enforcement and the continuing social and political sensitivities surrounding such actions.
