Masangum
Intangki Forest |October 1
The villagers of Inavi in Intangki Reserved Forest, who were evicted from the reserved forest on September 29, said that they will not leave the place until and unless a decision or an order comes from the Sumi Hoho, the apex Sumi tribal organization, directing them to move out of the village.
Strongly asserting that the land where they have settled belongs to the Government, the villagers, while interacting with The Morung Express on September 30, said that they started settling in the area since 1996. However, the villagers confessed that they have been evicted several times by the state government and also the underground faction. The villagers started re-settling in the area in November 2006.
This latest eviction drive was carried out by the NSCN (IM), said the villagers. However, about the September 29 eviction drive by the NSCN (IM), the villagers disclosed that even granary were not spared by the cadres. Some villagers said that they want to leave the area but are unable to do so due to lack of transportation facilities.
“We are compelled to stay back due to transportation problems,” a woman in her mid-thirties said. The village which has been evicted and burned down has been carried out in a planned manner. The paddy fields and domestic animals have been left untouched and unharmed. Pigs, dogs and poultry move around the remnants and ashes of the burnt villages freely, while paddy fields, ripe and yellow, are left standing, ready for harvest. Some paddy fields have already been harvested though.
However, some villagers were still sleeping in makeshift camps made out of tarpaulins, while a woman cooks supper for her family in the open air. One old lady, in her late seventies, was said to be ill. “She is suffering from fever,” said a woman. Two volley ball courts were also seen untouched. Some household belongings were found lying in the open field.
The village, Inavi, which covers approximately one kilometer, lays adjacent to the Temaki River. With the large timber tress still covering some part of the village, and the fertile virgin soils, the area occupied by Inavi village is one of areas in Nagaland having great natural resources.
Meanwhile, the NSCN (IM) cadres have cordoned off the village, restricting entry of anyone into the village areas.
According to one NSCN (IM) source, the cordoning off the area has been necessitated to prevent the reorganizing and resettlement of the village in the controversial Intangki Reserved Forest areas.
The NSCN (IM) holds that it has carried out the eviction in the interest of protection of ‘National property’.
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