Victims evicted from Waithou Sangomshang currently staying at temporary camp doubled their sufferings after their makeshift house was destructed by recent storm. The suffers are seeking support from government as the only option to address their adversity.
The recent strong storm accompanied by rain and thunder had left many people in misery. Because of this natural calamity, many houses in various part of state were severely destructed that aggrieved family even seek compensation from government. Amongst all those families hit by that storm, victims evicted from Waithou Sangomshang has also one of the severely affected people requiring immediate support from authority concerned.
One of the evicted victims, Huidrom Tamubi who is in her 60s told to IRAP that destruction of their makeshift houses has shattered away all their courage to live further in her life. Being a poverty-stricken senior citizen, the sole means to reduce her suffering is to get at least some possible support from government.
“My newly constructed house at Waithou Sangomsang was dismantled in 2022 by state government on the ground that it comes under jurisdiction of Waithou Protected Reserved Forest. State government declaring the people staying in Waithou Sangomsang as illegal encroacher is unacceptable. I am almost in age of 60s and my family has been settling here from many years. As a helpless citizen, our family was forced to leave the ancestral land,” she lamented while sharing the ordeal that she has been going through since eviction.
After the eviction, Tamubi’s family has been staying in camp constructed at public ground of Waithou Khongnang Kachin with other 13 victimised families which is around 100 population.
Most the people are living under below poverty, they are living from hands to mouth doing available job. The ongoing crisis yet again threatened in their survival due to unavailability of jobs. Amidst this difficult time, all their temporary houses were completely damaged by recent storm.
Another evicted victim said that they are grappling only with uncertainty and pain. The eviction has made them to become a homeless person. However, they got sigh of relief when they got shifted in temporary camp in 2022 right after eviction. But the recent storm has again taken away all their courage to live their life.
“We know that we can’t live in this temporary home through-out their life as the place of their settlement is public property. I hope that everyone staying in this makeshift will have their own plan. However, thinking about trouble after trouble we are encountering, all hope and courage have been lost,” she stated.
Another lady also said that state government can even set up temporary shelter for refugees entering in the state. But state government not giving at least little support to them that also belong to indigenous people of state is very unfortunate.
“We are not refugees. We are indigenous people of the state. As a human, they should provide at least some support like they do for refugees,” she said while urging to state government to provide at least some support.
It may be mentioned that as many as 69 houses were completely demolished during eviction of illegal structure within Waithou Reserve Forest area under Thoubal district division in 2022.
The writer is an award winning reporter
