Greenfield Airport Eviction: Dolu Families Demand School and Other Facilities Before Moving to Lalbag

Members of the Lalbag New Colony Monitoring Committee staged a protest on Wednesday (August 19), demanding proper basic facilities for families displaced from Dolu Tea Garden for the construction of the proposed Greenfield Airport.

The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Cachar District Administration, seeking proper rehabilitation facilities before the affected families are shifted to the new settlement at Lalbag Tea Garden.

According to the committee, 193 worker families are being displaced from Dolu Tea Garden as part of the land acquisition process for the airport project. However, only 173 families have so far been included in the rehabilitation process at Lalbag, leaving around 20 families out of the proposed settlement.

The committee also raised concerns over the quality of the houses being constructed for the displaced families. A member of the organisation, while speaking to the media, said the houses were not of satisfactory quality and questioned their long-term durability.

The protesters said essential facilities must be in place before the families are moved to the new location. Their demands include a proper school, hospital, children’s playground, Hindu cremation ground, drainage system and better road connectivity. They also demanded proper transport and communication facilities in the rehabilitation area.

The committee alleged that the new settlement currently does not have the facilities that the families had access to at their previous location. They questioned how the rehabilitation process could work if adequate facilities were not provided at the new site.

The protesters also demanded that the approximately 20 families left out of the rehabilitation process be included in the project. They further sought financial compensation for the displaced families, arguing that people should not lose their homes and land for a major infrastructure project without receiving due compensation.

The committee claimed that it has submitted more than 100 memoranda to the authorities over the years, outlining its demands, but has not received the response it expected from the government.

The protest comes after the eviction drive at Dolu Tea Garden in 2022, during which a large number of tea plants were removed for the airport project.

The committee said it would continue its agitation if its demands are not addressed. It maintained that the families should not be shifted until proper housing, education, healthcare, roads, drainage and other essential services are ensured, along with rehabilitation for the families allegedly left out of the process.