Assam govt starts eviction drive to clear encroachment on 3,600 acres of forest land in Golaghat
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Golaghat (PTI): The Assam government on Tuesday began a massive eviction drive to clear alleged encroachment on over 3,600 acres of forest land in Golaghat district, officials said.
The move by the state government will affect at least 1,500 families, they said.
Several senior officials of the Golaghat district administration and the forest department told PTI that the eviction drive started in the morning to clear the alleged encroachment on almost 11,000 bighas (over 3,600 acres) of land of Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in Sarupathar sub-division.
"The eviction drive started from the main market in the Bidyapur area. We will gradually proceed to residential areas and demolish the illegal housing structures," an official said.
He claimed that around 10,500 bighas to 11,000 bighas of land were encroached upon by the people.
"Around 2,000 families are living in those areas. Out of them, notices were served to about 1,500 families, who illegally settled here. The remaining families are forest dwellers and have certificates from the Forest Rights Committee (FRC)," the official said.
The families whose houses are being demolished belong to the Muslim community, while those having FRC certificates are from Bodo, Nepali and other communities, locals claimed.
"Around 80 per cent of the families who had received notices have already vacated their illegal settlements in the last few days. We are only demolishing their homes," the official added.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
