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Buddhadeb faces angry protests from Aila victims

Raktima Bose

HINGALGANJ (NORTH 24 PARGANAS): Angry protests greeted West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee during his visit on Tuesday to some relief camps in North 24 Parganas district, where hundreds of victims of Cyclone Aila have taken shelter.

Soon after Mr. Bhattacherjee’s convoy reached a school, now used as a relief camp, he faced a volley of complaints from residents of several villages. “Why has he come here after eight days [since the cyclone struck]?” a section of the victims asked.

Mr. Bhattacharjee’s security personnel had a tough time, as scores of villagers surrounded him and alleged that the Irrigation Department’s “failure” to repair the river embankments on time led to the breach at several places.

“Our main concern is the breached river embankment. The tidal wave expected in a few days in the wake of the full moon is bound to submerge our land once again if the embankments are not repaired,” said Probhash Gayen of Shanshannagar.

Promising to get the dikes repaired shortly, Mr. Bhattacharjee said the villagers too need to pitch in, along with the engineers, to plug the breaches.

Earlier in the day, the villagers drove away local MLA Gopal Gayen when he came to visit the camp.

“Human bodies as well as carcasses are floating in the stagnant water. An enteric disease outbreak is just a matter of time. Where were all these politicians and Ministers all this while?” asked Sabita Mondal of Sanderbill.

Before coming down here, Mr. Bhattacharjee visited another camp at Sarberia, where most of the people requested him to build houses since the floodwater swept away all their belongings. “We are left with nothing, not even a change of clothes. Our livestock is dead and our land is destroyed. Please build pucca houses for us,” said Jehad Ali Sardar of Chhoto Ajgara.

Mr. Bhattacharjee told them that the government would allocate money within a week to build houses.

Later talking to journalists, he said checking the high tide (expected on June 5) is the “bigger problem right now.”

“I have asked the Irrigation Department engineers to start repairing the embankments. More than 400 km of the embankments has been breached, and though it might not be able to repair the entire stretch before June 5, we have do as much as possible.”

“Finance Minister Ashim Dasgupta has spoken to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Our memorandum asking for help has reached New Delhi,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

Two lakh children affected

Marcus Dam reports from Kolkata

More than two lakh children are among those affected by the recent storms in West Bengal, Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty has said. The need for milk powder for children is urgent, and the State has sought the assistance of UNICEF and the Red Cross. The total number of those to be affected has risen to 6.66 million.

The State government has also asked the Navy and the Coast Guard to provide vessels for transporting relief to the areas that lie submerged. In all, 765 relief camps sheltering more than 3 lakh people have been set up. A sum of Rs 210 crore has so far been spent on relief.

A memorandum submitted in New Delhi earlier in the day by Mr. Asim Dasgupta to Mr. Mukherjee says the sum required from the National Calamity Contingency Fund is more than Rs.1,224 crore. But after adjusting for the funds available from the State’s Calamity Relief Fund and allowing for certain augmentation of both Central and State budgetary resources for schemes under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and some curtailment of the State’s budgetary allocation from other sectors, “at least Rs.1,000 crore is immediately required.”

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