Assam: Residents protest against government's decision to close revenue circle, threaten to boycott Panchayat polls

Residents of Chamaria under Kamrup District, Assam organised a sit-in protest on November 12 against the state government's decision to close the Chamaria revenue circle office.

The protesters threatened to intensify their stir as well as boycott the upcoming Panchayat elections in the state, if the state government did not listen to their demand of cancellation of Revenue Circle Office closure.

A resident of Chamaria while speaking to the media said, "The circle office was established here in 1988  and the office was set up by the then Asom Gana Parishad party in the memory of three martyrs of Assam movement. The decision by Assam government to cancel the revenue circles across the state has been condemned and hence today we are doing a sit-in protest against government's decision to close the revenue circle. The government that spoke about community, land and base) is now talking about shutting down these revenue circle offices".

Assam government had announced the closure of 36 revenue circle offices across the state, with the aim to consolidate administrative services involving relocation of staff from the affected offices to other reveneu circles within the same district. 

This decision had triggered widespread apprehension among residents. 

The list of revenue circle offices slated for closure spans multiple districts. Among them, Bajali district's Sarupeta revenue circle office and Barpeta district’s Baghbar and Sarthebari offices are set to be shut down. The decision extends to Dangtol and Manikpur in Bongaigaon district, Halem in Biswanath, and Sapekhati in Charaideo. Similarly, Pathorighat and Pub Mangaldai in Darrang district, Gogamukh in Dhemaji, and Agomoni and Chapar in Dhubri will be affected.

Additional closures include the Dibrugarh (West) office, Rongjuli in Goalpara, Khumtai in Golaghat, Algapur and Lala in Hailakandi, and West Jorhat. In Kamrup Metropolitan district, the Chandrapur revenue circle office is slated for shutdown, while Kamrup district will see closures in North Guwahati, Kayan, Chaygaon, Nagarbera, and Chamaria. 

Other affected areas include Badarpur in Karimganj district, Kadam and Subansiri in Lakhimpur district, Ujani Majuli in Majuli, and Mikirbheta and Bhuragaon in Morigaon. Nalbari district will witness the closure of Pachim Nalbari, Ghagrapar, Barbhag, and Banekuchi, with additional closures in Amguri, Sivasagar, and South Salmara in the South Salmara-Mankachar district.