Guwahati, Aug. 17 -- Protests have intensified in Assam's Goalpara district over an alleged government proposal to make a large portion of the Rakhyasini Reserve Forest available for industrial development.

Local residents and protesters have opposed the reported proposal to allot around 550 hectares of forest land for industries, arguing that indigenous and landless communities living in the area for decades are still awaiting land rights and pattas.

The protesters alleged that tribal communities, including Rabhas and Bodos, as well as families displaced by riverbank erosion, have been residing in the area and depending on agriculture for their livelihoods.

They said these communities have maintained a longstanding association with th...