Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary

The Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located on the eastern fringe of Guwahati, Assam, India. The sanctuary is known for hosting rare and endangered birds and animals, including the Chinese pangolin and Assamese Macaque.[1]

Prior to 2004, the area was made up of 3 individual reserved forests, the Amchang reserve forest, South Amchang forest reserve and Khanapara reserve forest. The 3 forests were combined in 2004 by the Assam state government to form the sanctuary as it exists today.It is spread over in an area of 78.64 square kilometre [2]

2017 Eviction Drive

In November 2017, Assam state police and the Indian Forest Department forcibly removed over 400 families who were living in the sanctuary at the request of the Supreme Court of India.[3] According to state Environmental Minister Pramila Brahma, the encroachment of settlers on the land has caused the elephants that live there to search for food outside of the sanctuary, causing deaths and destruction of crops in villages around Guwahati.[4]

Police used various methods to disperse protestors of the eviction drive and families living in the sanctuary, including rubber bullets, tear gas, and elephants to destroy illegally built homes.[5] 15 people were allegedly injured during the eviction, although this claim was denied by the police commissioner of Guwahati, Hiran Chandra Nath.[6]

The incident led to discussions about the rights of the indigenous Mising tribe, many of whom were victims of the forced eviction after being displaced by rampant flooding.[7] Notably, the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations (CCTO) deemed the evictions "illegal".[8]

References
  1. "Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary, National Parks in Assam". www.nativeplanet.com. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  2. "Over 700 Families Left Homeless After Assam Government's Eviction Drive at Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary". The Wire. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  3. "Amchang: How thousands were rendered homeless due to 'govt apathy'". EastMojo. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  4. "400 families evicted from Amchang wildlife sanctuary in Guwahati". The Indian Express. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  5. Safi, Michael; agencies (2017-11-27). "Indian police use elephants to evict illegal settlers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  6. Staff Reporter (2017-11-28). "Amchang eviction drive draws flak from activists". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  7. "The Conservation Discourse in Assam Must Consider a Sustainable Rehabilitation Plan for the Mising Tribe". Economic and Political Weekly: 7–8. 2015-06-05.
  8. Bagchi, Suvojit (2017-11-29). "12 hour Assam bandh on Wednesday to protest eviction". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-05-10.

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