Want to clean Lumding forest of encroachers, but after talks: Assam CM
The Hindu
The controversial drive to turf out “illegal settlers” at Gorukhuti’s Dhalpur villages in Darrang district last month, had left at least two persons dead in police firing and nearly two dozens injured.
Close on the heels of a bloody clash during an eviction drive in Darrang, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the state wishes to “clean” the Lumding Reserve Forest of alleged encroachers, but has taken an “amicable approach through dialogue” to encourage people to leave on their own.
The controversial drive to turf out “illegal settlers” at Gorukhuti’s Dhalpur villages in Darrang district last month, had left at least two persons dead in police firing and nearly two dozens injured.
“After Gorukhuti, we need to clean Lumding forest, but we are talking amicably so that it can happen through a proper discussion. I met most of the minority leaders and told them that if police go in and even if there is a small incident, then people in the world, particularly my left friends, will exaggerate it,” Sarma said.