NDFB(S) serial attacks: nearly 18,000 refugees return home

GUWAHATI: Nearly 18,000 people hit by NDFB (S) violence in Assam have returned to their homes from camps since yesterday with improvement in the situation though nearly over 1.6 lakh people are still lodged in the temporary shelters.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) Chief Executive Officer Pramod Kumar Tiwari said 1,64,790 persons were living in 96 relief camps in Kokrajhar, Sonitpur, Chirang and Udalguri districts at this moment.

"During last 24 hours, 6 relief camps have been closed down in Chirang and Kokrajhar districts... No report of any untoward incidence has been received from anywhere of these districts," he said in a statement.

Yesterday, more than 1.8 lakh persons were living in 102 relief camps in the four districts.

At present, nearly 1.4 lakh people are staying at 68 relief camps in Kokrajhar. It is followed by Chirang, where over 22,000 people are staying at 14 camps.

Authorities are running 7 relief camps in Sonitpur and nearly 1,300 people are staying at this moment in these places. Udalguri also has 7 camps, housing around 2,500 inmates.

Altogether 81 people, including 26 women and 18 infants, have been killed since December 23 evening in serial attacks by NDFB(S) terrorists, retaliatory violence and police firing across four districts.