Tensions are running high in Raha under Nagaon district’s Raha Revenue Circle, as indigenous residents have raised serious allegations of harassment and land encroachment. The conflict is centered around the Dangori Beel Kichamukh area, where government-rehabilitated families now find themselves once again fighting for the very land that was legally allotted to them years ago. Local residents claim that a group of illegal occupants has re-entered and seized large parts of land which had earlier been cleared of encroachments by the state government. These lands were part of a resettlement initiative for landless indigenous (Khilonjiya) families. However, despite previous eviction drives, the same encroachers have reportedly returned and are now setting up fresh settlements on the disputed plots.
According to community members, this group is not only occupying agricultural lands but is also threatening and intimidating the rightful settlers. “They release cattle into our cultivated fields to destroy crops, they steal our livestock, and constantly harass our women and children,” said one local farmer, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We feel abandoned by the authorities.” The encroachments are not limited to a small patch of land. Official records show that the illegally occupied land spans across several dag numbers in Dangori Beel Kichamukh:
1113 bighas 3 lochas under Dag No. 58
220 bighas under Dag No. 60
62 bighas 4 kathas under Dag No. 43
10 bighas 4 kathas under Dag No. 5
291 bighas 3 kathas under Dag No. 6
68 bighas under Dag No. 35
17 bighas 3 kathas under Dag No. 10
26 bighas 3 kathas under Dag No. 210
These lands were previously cleared during government-initiated eviction drives aimed at protecting ecologically sensitive areas and restoring rights to genuine landless people. However, the failure to maintain vigilance has allowed illegal groups to reclaim these lands and assert unlawful control.