AJP to stage statewide protests demanding rehabilitation of Laika-Dodhia villagers

GUWAHATI: Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), one of the latest entrants in the political hemisphere of Assam, has said that it will launch a statewide agitation on January 21 in demand of land rights for the indigenous Assamese populace, including the Laika-Dodhia villagers who have been protesting in Tinsukia town.

Jagadish Bhuyan, the General Secretary of the regional party, told Inside Northeast that the AJP will stage sit-in protests in all its district offices from 11 am to 2 pm.

"Basically, we have three major demands. Firstly, we want the Government to ensure the rehabilitation of the villagers of the Laika-Dodhia villages. The Government should ensure that each of these families receives a plot of land. Secondly, we want the ruling dispensation to look into the issues of the landless indigenous peoples of the state. Thirdly, we want the Government to implement the recommendations of the Committee for Protection of Land Rights of the Indigenous People of Assam headed by former CEC Hari Shankar Brahma," he told Inside Northeast.

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Villagers of Laika-Dodhia, who have been living in makeshift camps for the past 25 days near the Tinsukia deputy commissioner’s office in Upper Assam seeking permanent and proper rehabilitation, were recently joined by AJP Chief Lurin Jyoti Gogoi.

The AJP sponsored a feast for the 1,500 inmates on Thursday night to mark Bihu. 

Overall 1,480 families from seven villages were affected after the forest reserves under which they fall were converted into the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in 1999. 

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