Authorities in Assam’s Hojai district have resumed a major eviction operation inside the Jamuna-Maudanga Reserved Forest located in the Doboka area. The drive specifically targets 152 families and aims to reclaim roughly 525 bighas of forest land that has allegedly been under illegal encroachment for a considerable period.
To execute the operations smoothly, the administration deployed approximately 12 bulldozers at the site. A day prior to the commencement, officials used public loudspeakers on Friday to instruct the local residents living in the area to vacate their dwellings ahead of the heavy machinery moving in. Following these formal announcements, several impacted households began packing their belongings and moving out overnight.
This fresh crackdown follows a sweeping operation conducted within the same reserved forest back in January of this year. During that earlier phase, local authorities evicted 1,098 families and successfully recovered around 700 hectares of forest territory.
However, 152 families managed to secure temporary legal relief after approaching the court immediately following the January sweep. Because the matter remained under judicial consideration, their houses were spared and remained standing while the legal discussions continued.
With the legal status addressed, the district administration along with the Forest Department initiated Saturday's sweep to clear the remaining pockets of encroachment. Public warnings had been reiterated on Friday to ensure residents departed before the scheduled weekend operations began, allowing authorities to proceed as planned.
