Sadiya MLA Bolin Chetia on Thursday distributed land plots to 30 families from Kaitiya village who had been living in makeshift camps for 33 years after losing their homes and land to the catastrophic Brahmaputra River floods and erosion of 1992. The land distribution ceremony marks the end of over three decades of uncertainty and hardship for these displaced families who had been struggling for survival in cramped, temporary shelters.
The beneficiary families had been forced to relocate to Kordoiguri area in Tinsukia district following the devastating 1992 floods, where they lived on just 1 bigha of land in extremely difficult conditions with limited access to basic amenities. Many survived through daily wage labor while others attempted to farm on the minimal shared land available to them.
“After 33 years of living in uncertainty and makeshift shelters, these families finally have a place they can truly call home. Today marks a new beginning for these 30 families,” Chetia said.
The land distribution covered families residing in multiple locations: 25 families living at No. 3 Kordoiguri Garigaon village, 4 families at Darjijan Muaribasti, and 1 family at Tipuk Simaluguri Bajraput Satra. Official land allotment papers were handed over to each family, providing them legal ownership and security.
The initiative was made possible through the generous contribution of local tea estate owners. Ghanashyam Lahoti, owner of Kesaguri Tea Estate, provided 20 bighas of land, while Kishore Agarwal, owner of Brindaban Tea Estate, contributed 4 bighas of land for the rehabilitation of these displaced families.“We are grateful to the tea estate owners who came forward to support this humanitarian cause. Their generosity has made it possible for these families to finally have land of their own after decades of displacement,” Chetia added.
This land distribution follows a similar rehabilitation effort in August this year, when 101 landless families from Kaitiya village—also displaced by the same 1992 Brahmaputra floods—received land at Sadiya. Each of those families was allotted 5 bighas of agricultural land and 1 bigha of residential land at Ghurmura Ganeshbari in Sadiya, providing them with opportunities for both housing and livelihood.
One of the beneficiaries expressed her gratitude, saying, “We had almost lost hope. For 33 years, we lived in temporary camps and moved from one place to another. Owning a piece of land today gives us not just security, but a future for our children.”
