Boko: Dhiren Mali, a resident of Birpara village in the Kamrup district, Assam, began an indefinite hunger strike on Friday in front of the Bongaon Development Block Office demanding government land documents for the plot of land he lives on.
Mali alleged that the village headman demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000 for a government land document, but he refused to pay.
Dhiren Mali said, “In 1980, the Brahmaputra floods also washed away the village of Barniapara in South Sarubans Mouza. Our family was devastated by the floods. After about a year in the shelter camp, ee were officially allowed to live in government lease No 38 of Chatabari Revenue Village under Chaygaon Revenue Circle. Most of the families settle in the area. Of these, seven families received allotment certificates, but the rest did not. Among these seven families, my father Bharat Mali was also allotted land. After separating from my father in 1986, I started living separately in a vacant part of the same lease”.
Later in 2013, the government took steps to allocate the land by conducting a new survey.
“I would like to mention with deep concern that during this survey, the local Gaon Burha (Gaon Pradhan) demanded Rs. 5,000 in cash from me in the name of the Mandal. I was not financially well-off in paying that money. I wasn’t mentally prepared either. So, I refused to pay the money they asked for. They did not measure the land I was living on and did not list my name. So, my family is deprived of land allotment. However, the area was also allocated to people who had their own land and were not affected by the floods,” he said.
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In this situation, I had no choice but to go on hunger strike. I hope that the concerned authorities will take the matter seriously and provide justice to my landless family affected by the floods by making proper arrangements for allotment of occupied land.”
When asked about the matter, Chaygaon Revenue Circle Officer, Nirmal Jyoti Sharma, responded that the matter will be investigated thoroughly. The officer informed that a survey will be conducted with the lat mandal and necessary action will be taken accordingly.
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