Mamata to oversee relief for Assam evacuees

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit relief camps set up in Alipurduar area for people fleeing neighbouring districts of Assam in the wake of the attacks by NDFB(S) militants 

on tribals. 

The Chief Minister left for Bagdogra and will go to Kumargram in Alipurduar on Saturday where the relief camps have been set up by the state government.  Banerjee had said earlier that her government was making necessary arrangements to provide shelter for the evacuees.  

An estimated 300 refugees are still residing in these camps. The refugees crossed over to the Bengal side in the wake of the firing. The administration has reportedly deployed one company of CRPF for security purpose at the camps in Kumargram block and made provisions for drinking water and food for those who left their homes in the wake of the massacre in Kokrajhar, Sonitpur and 

Chirang districts.

Expressing grief over the killings, Banerjee had earlier said on her Facebook page, “The brutal mass killing of adivasis in Assam by armed extremists has deeply saddened me. I strongly condemn the heinous act”.

“Many adivasi families have started coming to our state for shelter. We have made necessary arrangements to help them and we will continue to do so,” Banerjee added.  It is known that up to 9,000 soldiers and paramilitary troopers are on the ground on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to flush out militants of the NDFB (Songbijit) outfit. 

According to sources, there are at least 8,000-9,000 boots on the ground. The Army has even pressed choppers into action to prevent militants from escaping into Myanmar and Bangladesh.