Why these two Assam districts keep resurfacing in Lucknow's SIR drive across slums

Officials said the impact of the verification drive has also been felt within the municipal workforce.

Two districts of Assam, Barpeta and Kamrup, have repeatedly surfaced during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise being carried out by Lucknow Police and the Lucknow Municipal Corporation in the city’s slum clusters, triggering wider verification and inter state coordination.

Officials associated with the drive said a clear pattern has emerged during door to door checks. A large number of slum residents under scrutiny have identified Barpeta or Kamrup as their native districts. The recurrence of the same two districts, nearly 1,500 km away from Lucknow, across several slum pockets has prompted authorities to deepen investigations and initiate cross verification.

Joint teams of the police and the civic body have been surveying informal settlements in Gudamba, Dubagga, Indira Nagar, Khadra, Para, Bijnour and areas under the Hazratganj police station. These slums are largely inhabited by migrant workers engaged in rag picking, waste collection, construction work, domestic labour and small manufacturing units.

Senior officials said the Special Intensive Revision drive is aimed at verifying identity documents, identifying overstaying migrants and tracing people living without valid papers. Deputy Commissioner of Police South Nipun Agarwal said Barpeta and Kamrup emerged as common links during checks in Aurangabad Jagir locality under the Bijnour police station.

In Phoolbagh colony under Gudamba police station, officials found more than 300 people from around 70 families living in makeshift shanties. Most residents claimed to have migrated from Barpeta or Kamrup. Several produced National Register of Citizens documents issued in Assam and said their families had been living there for generations before moving to Lucknow in search of livelihood.

Gulfan Ali, a resident who said his family belongs to Barpeta, said he had shown his NRC documents but continued to face repeated verification. “I have NRC papers and we have shown them to local people and officials. Still, we are being harassed again and again. The Assam government should intervene and clarify our status,” he said.

Others said they had moved to Lucknow over the past two decades due to lack of employment opportunities in Assam. However, officials said a number of residents failed to produce acceptable identity documents during the checks.

A senior police officer said the frequent mention of the same two districts by people without valid papers had raised concerns. Authorities are examining whether all such individuals genuinely belong to Indian families settled in Assam or whether the district names are being used as a cover. The possibility of organised networks coaching illegal immigrants to cite identical native locations is also under probe. “Claiming to be residents of Assam, some immigrants have obtained government IDs from two Assam districts, while others claim links with West Bengal. The issue is complex and requires coordination among agencies at different levels,” the officer said.

The civic body has also stepped up action on its own. Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharkwal recently carried out a raid in a slum and said that a large number of residents were unable to produce basic identity documents. “Over 300 to 400 people are living in the slums but only a few were able to show their Aadhaar cards. Many could not tell the address or the name of their local MLA and representatives. They have been asked to leave the place within 15 days. We are conducting a drive under the Lucknow Municipal Corporation to check such illegal immigrants who are likely Rohingya or Bangladeshi,” Kharkwal told this reporter.

Officials said the impact of the verification drive has also been felt within the municipal workforce. Around 160 employees of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, including sanitation workers, garbage vehicle drivers and door to door waste collectors, reportedly stopped reporting for duty after being asked to submit their documents for verification.

Across various studies and reports, the population of Bengali Muslim migrants working as rag pickers and waste collectors in Lucknow is estimated to range from 30,000 to over 90,000. These migrants have formed slum clusters on the city’s fringes and are largely employed by contractors who facilitate their movement from Assam. While many claim origins in lower Assam, officials said there is no documentary evidence so far to establish that any individual is not an Indian citizen.

Despite being part of the informal waste management system that contributes to keeping the city clean, the community often faces social stigma. For the police, they remain subject to repeated verification, while for the public they are largely seen as outsiders, commonly referred to as kudawallas or kabadiwalas, a perception that continues to shape their lives amid the ongoing SIR drive.