Dispur: In a sweeping eviction drive, the BJP-led Assam government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma demolished around 500 homes of Bengali-origin Muslims in Azara, on the outskirts of Guwahati.
According to Kashmir24, the operation targeted settlements spanning approximately 737 bighas (245 acres) in the Islampur area of the Azara revenue circle. The affected families, displaced by floods and riverbank erosion, had lived in the area for almost two decades.
Authorities issued a 15-day eviction notice, claiming the drive was part of efforts to protect tribal lands, forests, and wildlife from “illegal occupation”.
Displaced residents, however, said their presence had long been known to local officials, with some families having even received government aid. Videos from the site showed bulldozers razing bamboo-and-tin structures under police supervision, as women and children watched helplessly as their homes were turned to rubble.