Victims of communal riots in Udalguri. File picture

Guwahati, Jan. 20: Inmates of relief camps in Udalguri remain apprehensive about returning home despite the administration’s efforts to send them back by January 15, a commitment given on the floor of the recently concluded Assembly session.

The riots that erupted on October 3 in Udalguri district before spreading to adjoining areas of Darrang district saw 214,695 take shelter in 98 relief camps, 54 of which were in Udalguri. Though officials claimed that around 16,000 riot-hit of Udalguri were yet to return home, the All Assam Minority Students Union claimed that 43,000 Muslims still remain in camps spread over both districts.

“There are also a large number of Bodos in the camps, though I do not have the actual figure. The government has failed to meet the deadline of rehabilitation and has not been able to provide security and adequate compensation to the affected,” Sabibar Rahman, president of the students’ union said, after temporarily suspending an indefinite road blockade in front of Kharupetia College this morning. The blockade was lifted after senior administration officials of Darrang and Udalguri promised to send the inmates home by January 31.

Mohar Ali, an inmate at the Kharupetia Bolugorah Madani Madrasa relief camp, said the 565 inmates are afraid to return home because of security concerns. “We cannot go on our own because of security concerns. Even though we are getting food now, a lot remains to be desired,” he alleged. The 35-year-old lives in Golondihabi in the Udalguri.

However, an Udalguri district administration official said 85 per cent of the inmates have returned home and the rest will return in the next few days. “There cannot be strict deadlines. It will take time for things to return to normal. Now we have around 12 camps compared to 54 in the beginning. We have asked them to stay in clusters with proper security where there is any problem. The areas where we have the cluster system includes Ikrabari, Hazaragaon, Kuptimaeri and Saptimari,” he said.

An official from Darrang said they have eight camps but the inmates are from neighbouring Udalguri. There are eight additional companies of security personnel in Darrang and 11 in Udalguri.

A senior revenue department official said things are on track and that the deadline has been extended to January 31 on the request of the Udalguri administration. He also said Rs 10,000 is being given to each affected family.