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Assam has carried out multiple eviction and demolition drives since the BJP came to power in the state in 2016, many of them in settlements predominantly inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims

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Authorities in Assam’s Nagaon district have evicted more than 1,500 Bengali-speaking Muslim families from what officials say is encroached reserved forest land, local media reported on Saturday.

The demolition drive took place in the Lutimari area, covering about 795 hectares of forest, according to Scroll.in.

Officials told news agency PTI that eviction notices were issued three months earlier, directing residents to vacate the area within two months. The families requested an additional month, which the administration granted, PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying.

More than 1,100 families had already dismantled their homes and left with their belongings before the operation began, the official told PTI, adding that the remaining structures were demolished during the drive.

Residents told The Assam Tribune they were left without shelter following the eviction. “It would have been better if the government had provided a place for us,” one displaced resident was quoted as saying. “We left voluntarily as per the order, and we want rehabilitation.”

Forest Department Special Chief Secretary M.K. Yadava said clearing the area would help reduce human-elephant conflict, The Assam Tribune reported.

Assam has carried out multiple eviction and demolition drives since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state in 2016, many of them in settlements predominantly inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that more than 160 sq km of land has been cleared of encroachments since he took office in May 2021. Many displaced residents say their families had lived in the area for decades and settled there after losing land to erosion along the Brahmaputra River.