Migratory birds at Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

Sept. 5: Around 12,000 residents of the forest villages of Laika and Dodhia, located in the core area of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, have decided to take recourse to agitation for being “overlooked” when the state’s forest department proposed to Delhi that the sanctuary be declared a national park.

Dibru-Saikhowa, which houses several endangered species of migratory and residential birds, was accorded the status of a national park in 1999.

The villagers recently formed a committee, the Laika-Dodhia Unnayan Sangram Samity, to spearhead the campaign for a better relocation deal.The committee is planning to begin the agitation with a demonstration before the office of the Tinsukia deputy commissioner.

“We must be compensated with Rs 5 lakh and 10 bigha of land each for agreeing to relocate. The government has shown us areas near Sadiya, Naharkatia and the Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, but these sites are unfit for cultivation,” Ratna Mili, a teacher from Laika village, said.

The villagers also suspect that they will be deprived of compensation if they agree to leave their land before laying their hands on the money.

The residents have demanded the conversion of the two forest villages into revenue villages so that they can reap the benefits of various state and central government schemes, which they had been getting for several years until Dibru-Saikhowa was declared a national park.

“We have known from various sources that in our country 844 forest villages have been converted into revenue villages for. Therefore, we urge the government to convert our two villages into revenue villages, too, which will enable us to co-exist with nature and also save the park from destruction,” said Rupeswar Pao, an elderly villager.

Divisional forest officer Aniruddha Dey said the government had already taken a decision and the process of relocating the villagers could not be reversed.

“According to the law, there cannot be any human habitation inside the core area of a national park. We have to abide by that rule. As far as relocating the villagers is concerned, we are working that out with the district administration”, Dey said over phone.

The park comprises two ranges, Saikhowa and Guijan. Apart from massive erosion by the Brahmaputra, the park has been encountering a manpower shortage.