Assam violence: Families to get Rs 50,000 each to rebuild homes

Over two lakh people from both communities were displaced or had taken shelter in relief camps, some for more than a month after the clashes that left 33 dead.

Kokrajhar deputy commissioner Thaneswar Malakar said that altogether over 5,000 people from both Adivasi and Bodo communities were displaced, many of whom were also living in villages they had set up inside reserved forests.

“Now that people have been sent back to their villages, we have provided fixed police pickets in those villages to provide protection to the people,” Malakar said. These make-shift camps are located at Khalashi, West Malegaon, Dwimuguri, Amjhora, North Panbari, South Panbari, Bashbari and Saralpara.

The state government has already provided funds to the tune of nearly Rs 10 crore to provide them rehabilitation grants. “While we have created MGNREGA jobs, two of the local MLAs have also provided Rs 50 lakh each from their MLA Development Fund to create more jobs,” Malakar said.

The people will get wages under MGNREGA for working on schemes like construction of roads, canals, culverts, fishery tanks, bundhs, land development and also plantation of trees, the deputy commissioner said.