Authorities in Assam have demolished more than 1,200 houses belonging to Bengali Muslim families during a two-day eviction drive in Sonitpur district, officials said this week.

The demolitions were carried out on January 5 and 6 in areas falling within and around the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, as the state government moved to remove what it described as illegal encroachments on protected forest land.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the operation aimed to clear about 650 hectares of land inside the sanctuary. The drive covered villages under the Tezpur Sadar and Dhekiajuli revenue circles, including Jamuktol, Arimari, Siyalichar, Baghetapu, Galatidubi, Lathimari, Kundulichar, Purba Dubramari and Batulichar.

Officials said residents had built houses and cultivated farmland inside the sanctuary area. According to the district administration, many families dismantled their homes and left before the demolition began, while others remained, citing harsh winter conditions and requesting time to harvest standing crops.

Despite those appeals, the administration proceeded with the eviction. Sonitpur District Commissioner Ananda Kumar Das said the occupants could not be allowed to stay as the land fell within forest limits.

The latest operation follows a large eviction drive in February, when authorities cleared more than 2,000 hectares of land in the same sanctuary and nearby villages.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in Assam in 2016, eviction drives have been carried out across several districts. Many of these actions have affected areas inhabited largely by Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Sarma said on Monday that the government has reclaimed nearly 150,000 bighas of land through such drives across the state.

Those displaced have said their families had lived in the area for decades, arguing that their forebears moved there after losing land to erosion caused by the Brahmaputra river.

Evictions have at times led to unrest. In July, one person was killed and several others were injured when police opened fire during clashes with protesters at an eviction site in Goalpara district.

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