Opposition parties and various social groups on Tuesday organised a protest march against the government’s move to dissolve Biswanath district and demanded immediate revocation of the decision.
Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and Raijor Dal took part in the protest demonstration, which started from Swahid Bhawan and culminated at police point on National Highway-15.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP), Gorkha Students’ Union and Sangrami Yuva Chatra too joined the protest that lasted several hours.
On December 31, the Assam Cabinet decided to merge Biswanath with Sonitpur, from where it was carved out and made a separate district in August 2015.
Along with Biswanath, the state government Hojai with Nagaon, Tamulpur with Baksa and Bajali with Barpeta.
Protesters in Biswanath town raised slogans against the BJP-led Assam government and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, terming the decision to abolish district status as against the 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 to abolish the district.
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 have also been changed at the state cabinet meeting, held in New Delhi.
