Assam, the fury of the floods and the wave of terrorism
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Dozens were wounded in the three attacks carried out by the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) August 5th, in an Assam already laid bare by devastating floods. There are fears of an increase in violence ahead of the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence. Churches and NGO’s have urged commitment to fighting poverty to halt the flow of terrorist recruits.
At least 12 people were injured, six of them seriously, when a powerful bomb, planted on a bicycle, exploded in the heart of the vegetable market in Agia, about 12 km from Goalpara town in Lower Asom. At least 16 people were injured, when suspected ULFA militants triggered two explosions at separate places in Upper Asom's Sivasagar district. The first blast occurred in front of the petrol pump near Sonari police station at around 8.20 a.m., injuring at least eleven people, five of them critically. Police said the bomb was kept on a cart containing potatoes. The second explosion took place ten minutes later in front of a hotel in the heart of Sivasagar town. The bomb was kept on a bicycle parked near the hotel.
On July 28th Police also recovered a huge cache of explosives reportedly meant to be used by ULFA during the Independence Day celebrations. Altogether 1,475 detonators and 67 bundles of fuse wires were seized from a jungle at Sipajhar in Central Asom's Darrang based on a tip-off from an ULFA associate, arrested by police. There are fears of an increase in violent attacks ahead of Independence Day in an Assam already laid bare by devastating floods, which have killed 33 people and left over 5.5 million homeless in two weeks of relentless monsoon rains. More than 70 percent of the 5.5 million people displaced have since returned to their homes with an overall improvement in flood situation, but thousands of people are still taking shelter in makeshift camps and on other raised platforms with their villages filled with mud and slush. River embankments broke in various points flooding lands. Twenty-four people have died in separate incidents of drowning in Assam and nine were crushed to death in a massive in landslide triggered by heavy rains in adjoining Meghalaya. Floodwaters had entered Kaziranga National Park, home to the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, and forced animals to migrate to higher ground.
Babloo Loitongbam, Director of Imphal based Human Rights Alert told AsiaNews “People in Assam try to survive in the context of the man made disasters as well the natural calamities and this has been a reality of the North East for many years now. Over the past 11 days, Assam has been ravaged by r torrential monsoon rains, which also destroyed crops and homes. Terrorism by ULFA has been going on for many decades now and it has crippled life of the ordinary citizen.
Some political solution must be reached otherwise this stalemate is only harming the lives of the general public. Most of recruits to the ULFA are from the rural masses who have been marginalised and ignored by authorities from the Development quarters for many years. The vast rural population is rarely included (if ever) in the main stream development process and this has caused -amongst the rural people -a lot of anger and frustration against the Government”.
Fr. Nithiya Sagayam, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Justice, Peace and Development told AsiaNews “The Church in Assam has been delivering emergency relief to the families affected by providing them shelter, food and clothing on a massive scale. In coordination other NGOS, we have designed a three-pronged strategy to help families through emergency relief, rehabilitation, and disaster preparedness programs.”
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