By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: Their nights are already sleepless. And as if that is not enough, the shivering cold evenings come to add more pain to the wound. Besides, peace has long been lost. Tears, frown foreheads, gloomy eyes shape an uncertain future for each and everyone in the zone.
Meet Saiful Ali, a 58 year old farmer, who has been witness to the bloody violence which killed more than 70 people and injured hundred others in Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) in lower Assam. Once upon a time he was living happily with his family from the income he earned from his 15 odd bigha of agriculture land. He had also 12 numbers of cows to plough the land. But now he is daily wage earner at his neighbourhood areas leaving him to toil hard to make the ends meet.
The victims of BTAD violence in Guwahati seeking assistance from government.
“Our lives are really terrible. No one can understand until you go there and realize. I have tough time to run my six-member family. In spite of having the land for cultivation, I do not have the cows to go to plough. We also do not have the man power. Earlier, both the Bodo and Muslim people used to work together but that is not happening,” Ali expressed his concern.
There are many like Ali in the BTAD. Similarly, agriculture lands are lying vacant unused for months. Now, the only way for these people is to beg at the door steps of the government after losing the wealth and energy.
Several hundred such people have gathered in the state capital during the ongoing winter session of the assembly to make their voice heard. People from the both communities – Muslim and Bodo – sought government assistance to normalize their lives.
All of them are under a common forum called Central Relief Committee (CRC). CRC is demanding Rs 5 lakh which was assured by the central government to all the families of victims of the riot besides early rehabilitation under various schemes like Indira Awas Yojna type accommodation.
“Besides, we also want the government to withdraw all the terms and conditions which was set to hand over Rs 50, 000 to the families which are living in the khas land. These people have been living in the area for a long time and should be hand over the said amount to the victim without any delay,” said CRC president Hemendranath Brahma.
Biswajit Narzary of Aminkhata village of Kokrajhar district is also facing the same fate of uncertainty. Narzary is a small time businessman and his customers range of all communities. “Now the major problem we are facing is the lost faith among each other. After the violence, everything changed so drastically. People still fear to mingle with each other of different communities. It’s a very bad sign for the area from every aspect of life,” said Narzary, who had to face loss in his business besides losing his house and property during the riot.
Besides all the monetary assistance from the government, another important issue which they want from the administration is the confidence building measure among the people of different communities at the grass-root level.
“The man to man involvement is important at the grass root level to bring back the lost faith. All the funds and schemes cannot heal the damage if the people do not understand each other,” he said.
Moreover, with the arrival of winter, the life of the poor is getting tougher as many are living in plastic roofed houses with the sufficient amount of clothes.
Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Hagrama Mohilary assured them all possible help from his side. “Their condition is really poor and we will convince the chief minister for the assistance. Be it Muslim, Adivasi or Bodo all these people have been living there for several decades and all of them should be treated equally,” Mohilary said.
The miscreants who did all these rioting and violence have done their job by killing people and burning houses but these common and poor people are the sufferers from heir ill-deeds. Their lives have been changed forever.