Five villages excluded from Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council electoral roll, residents seek government's intervention

Residents of five villages in Assam's Tingkhang constituency have alleged that their names have been omitted from the electoral roll for the upcoming Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (SKAC) elections, which are scheduled to be held in September, despite possessing the required documents.
 

The Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is a statutory autonomous council constituted by the Assam government to safeguard the social, cultural and economic interests of the Sonowal Kachari community and oversee the implementation of development programmes in notified areas.
 

The affected villages are Dirai Alikinar, Dikcham Block, No. 2 Barbil (Thekeraguri), Longboi and Powali Baghmara, where residents claimed that the names of around 60 to 70 families have been excluded from the voters' list.
 

Speaking to the media, members of the Sonowal Kachari community said they had been deprived of their voting rights ahead of the council elections.
 

The residents alleged that despite submitting repeated representations over the past several years, the administration has not granted the five villages the status of "notified villages" under the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council.
 

They said the absence of notified status had resulted in their exclusion from the electoral roll and could also deprive future generations of educational, agricultural and economic benefits available under the autonomous council.
 

Seeking immediate intervention, the residents appealed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Tingkhang MLA Bimal Bora, and Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council Chief Executive Member Tongkeshwar Sonowal to ensure that the five villages are notified and that the names of all eligible voters are included in the electoral roll before the elections.