Jammu: The authorities on Saturday demolished nearly a dozen illegally constructed huts, mostly occupied by Rohingya immigrants, on forest land in Jammu, marking 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 native of Jammu, Stephen, who alleged that he was not served any prior notice before the eviction drive.
He claimed the demolition team arrived early in the morning and gave little time to the occupants 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 drive.
A forest official claimed 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,” he said, adding that the belongings were taken out first while the children and women were moved outside with the assistance of women’s police personnel.
There are video recordings of the operation during which only structures identified as illegal were razed, he said.
The official said the area spans roughly five hectares and the department prepared detailed data about the encroachments.
“The action was not directed against any particular community or group, but was solely aimed at removing encroachment from forest land. The forest rules are the same for everyone. There is no question of targeting any particular group. This action was solely against encroachments on forest land,” the official said.
He also warned that action would be taken against the other identified encroachments, and suggested that those requiring accommodation should seek rented housing or acquire land through legal means.
The Rohingya immigrants said they had been living in the area for nearly two decades after fleeing difficult circumstances in their home country, Myanmar, and the latest eviction drive had left several families without shelter.
“We escaped oppression in our country and took shelter here out of compulsion. We are not here to stay permanently. We hold identity cards issued by the United Nations,” Abdul Khaliq said.
“We have nowhere to go and are uncertain about the future of our children,” he said, appealing to the authorities to consider the plight of the affected families.
Last month, a Rohingya settlement in the Karyani Talab area of Jammu was cleared after the authorities served eviction notices to owners of plots who 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 (retired) 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.