Assam Women Protest Orunodoi Scheme Purge

Guwahati: More than 100 women swarmed the Khowang Sub-District Office in Assam yesterday. They demanded answers. The group traveled from Dhemeci, Haldhibari, Lezai, and Gajpuria to protest their sudden removal from the Orunodoi welfare scheme. These women rely on the state cash to survive. They claim the government cut their payments solely for backing Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi in the last Assembly elections.

The demonstrators pointed fingers at local BJP leaders and the area MLA. They accused these officials of manipulating the rolls to punish political dissent. One protester stated, "The names of genuine beneficiaries, including poor, widowed and specially-abled women, were removed from the list after they supported Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi during the Assembly elections."

For years, these women received Rs 830 every month. Now, the money stopped. Meanwhile, the protesters allege that families owning luxury vehicles and government employees still collect the checks. The group demands an immediate administrative inquiry into the current list. They want every eligible woman reinstated. Failure to act will spark a larger movement, the protesters warned. The government remains silent on the growing unrest.