Tension was seen in parts of Assam on Thursday as tea garden workers in Borkhola, under Cachar, came out on the streets to protest against what they described as continued neglect by the administration. The workers accused the authorities of failing to fulfil promises made to them after they were evicted from their land for a proposed airport project.
According to the protesters, more than 150 labour families were displaced from Doloo to make way for the construction of the airport. At the time of the eviction, officials had assured the affected families that they would be properly rehabilitated. The promises included permanent houses and the issuance of legal land pattas to secure their future. However, the workers said that even after a long wait, many of these assurances have not been met.
The protesting workers claimed that nearly 20 families are still without any form of housing. They said these families have been living in uncertainty, moving from place to place, despite repeatedly approaching local authorities. Some families have received houses under rehabilitation schemes, but the workers alleged that no land pattas have been given to them. This, they said, has left them without legal ownership and constant fear of further eviction. 
Speaking during the protest, one of the workers said the administration had made firm commitments when they were uprooted from their land. “We were told we would get houses and land rights. Today, many of us are still homeless, and even those who have houses do not have land pattas. It feels like our lives and our years of hard work in the tea gardens do not matter,” the protester said.
The demonstrators demanded immediate construction of houses for all remaining displaced families and the early issuance of land pattas to those already rehabilitated. They said rehabilitation without land rights was incomplete and unfair.
The workers also warned that the protest would not stop if their demands continued to be ignored. They said that if no concrete steps are taken soon, the agitation would be expanded and a larger movement would be launched across the region.
