Associations condemn eviction drive at Awaching, MLAs extend aid to affected villagers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 03 2018: The All Manipur Muslims (Meitei Pangal) Welfare Association (AMPWA), Babupara, has condemned the sudden demolition of 74 houses at Kshetri Bengoon, Nongmaiching Hills yesterday.

A press release issued by secretary general of AMPWA stated that an emergency meeting of the Central Executive Committee of AMPWA was held at its office in Imphal today.

The meeting condemned the sudden eviction drive and demolition of dwelling houses, including a primary school, of villagers who have allegedly settled there for a long time.

It also alleged that the eviction drive appears to be targeted against a particular community as there are more than a thousand encroachers of other communities in other State Reserved Forests who have not been evicted so far.

"The association hardly finds reports of any eviction drive in such a large scale and without notice in respect of other reserved forests by the authority concerned.

This has hurt the sentiments of the community who have been forcibly evicted", it stated.

AMPWA urged the State Government to produce a white paper showing how many encroachments are there in the State Reserved Forest areas along with details of the areas and encroachers and steps taken up by the Govt to evict them, with reasons for evicting the Muslim encroachers before others.

It further urged the Govt to clarify on when the said areas, which is mainly on the foothills , are declared as Reserved Forest area and asked if there were no settlers when the said areas were notified for eviction.

AMPWA also enquired why the villagers were allowed to construct the school and houses for the past many years and whether the State Govt has any plan for mass eviction drive against other encroachers in other reserved forest areas in the days to come.

The association appealed to the Govt to publish or notify the details before the eviction drive as these informations are necessary for public satisfaction and to show that the eviction drive is not targeted against a particular community.

It further appealed the State Govt to resettle the evicted villagers to a suitable area, considering their suffering and loss of hard earned assets.

Popular Front of India Manipur State has also decried the eviction drive conducted at Awaching which led to the destruction of 74 houses and a school.

A press release issued by PRO, Popular Front of India Manipur State stated that the exercise was inhuman and intentional as the areas encroached by other communities have not been touched till date.

It asked the State Government on how many land, in the about 90 percent of the State's landscape, have been demarked as Forest Reserves.

It further urged the Govt to provide appropriate land or space for the evicted villagers.

It also claimed that it will endorse and support any movement led by CSOs regarding the issue.

Meanwhile, Wabagai Assembly Constitution MLA Fajur Rahim and Kshetrigao Assembly Constitution MLA Amin Shah extended aid to the affected villagers of the sudden Govt's eviction drive at Awaching yesterday and who are presently taking shelter at a primary School in Kshetrigao Awang Leikai.

The MLAs visited the relief camp and presented rice as well as cash to the villagers.

Speaking to media persons, the MLA stated that the sudden eviction drive was harsh to the villagers while adding that the exercise would have gone smoothly if the State Govt had provided alternative settlement areas for the villagers before the eviction process.

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