TEZPUR, Jan 3 (PTI): Opposition parties and some social groups on Tuesday organised a protest march at Biswanath town against the Assam government’s move to merge Biswanath district with Sonitpur and demanded immediate revocation of the decision.
The Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and the Raijor Dal took part in the demonstration, which started from Swahid Bhawan and culminated at police point on National Highway-15.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP), Gorkha Students’ Union and Sangrami Yuva Chatra too joined the protest that lasted several hours.
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On December 31, the Assam Cabinet approved the administrative merger of Biswanath district with Sonitpur.
Biswanath was carved out of Sonitpur and made a separate district in August 2015.
At the cabinet meeting, the state government also decided to merge Hojai with Nagaon district, Tamulpur with Baksa district, and Bajali with Barpeta district.
Protesters in Biswanath town raised slogans against the BJP-led Assam government and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, terming the decision to abolish the district status as against public opinion.
“We will not accept this decision of the government. Let them carry out their delimitation exercise, we are not concerned about it. We want our district back immediately,” AASU Biswanath president Bikram Bikash Bora said.
They submitted a memorandum addressed to the chief minister through the local administration and sought revocation of the decision.
The decisions to merge the districts were taken just a day before the Election Commission had imposed a ban on creating new administrative units in Assam from January 1, 2023, as the poll panel would undertake the delimitation exercise in the state.
The administrative jurisdiction of some villages and a few towns were also changed at the state cabinet meeting, held in New Delhi.
Protests were also held in Nalbari and Darrang districts for the inclusion of some places in the two districts into the Bodoland Territorial Region.
