Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu
Jammu, Oct 3: Authorities on Saturday demolished nearly a dozen illegally constructed huts, mostly occupied by Rohingya immigrants, on forest land in Jammu district.
The action marked the second major eviction drive targeting the community in the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir within a month.
The anti-encroachment drive was carried out by the Forest Department in collaboration with the Forest Protection Force, Revenue Department and Police at Rahim Nagar within the Raika Forest on the outskirts of Jammu, officials said.
Among those whose structures were demolished was a Jammu native, Stephen, who alleged that he was not served any prior notice before the eviction drive.
He claimed that the demolition team arrived early in the morning and gave the occupants little time to remove their belongings.
Expressing concern over the loss of his belongings, Stephen said he had been living in the area for the past 10-12 years and had nowhere to go with his children following the demolition.
A forest official, however, claimed that the occupants had been warned twice within a fortnight before the demolition drive.
“The residents were allowed to remove their belongings before the structures were demolished. The belongings were taken out first, while the children and women were moved outside with the assistance of women police personnel,” the official said.
The official said video recordings of the operation were available and maintained that only structures identified as illegal were demolished.
“The area spans roughly five hectares, and the department prepared detailed data on the encroachments. The action was not directed against any particular community or group, but was solely aimed at removing encroachments from forest land. The forest rules are the same for everyone,” the official said.
“There is no question of targeting any particular group. This action was solely against encroachments on forest land,” he added.
Last month, a Rohingya settlement in the Karyani Talab area of Jammu was cleared after authorities served eviction notices to owners of plots who had rented out their land to immigrants.
The action came nearly a month after a Central committee on demographic changes visited Jammu from August 10 to 12 to gather information on issues relating to demographic changes, including illegal immigration.
The committee also visited the Rohingya settlement in the Karyani Talab area.
The committee was constituted on May 26 under the chairmanship of Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar (Retd) to examine demographic changes and suggest administrative and legal measures.
Government data presented to the committee in August showed that 7,656 Rohingyas had been identified across Jammu and Kashmir.
Of these, 6,737 were identified across the 10 districts of the Jammu region, while 919 were identified across the 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley.