Cyclone, Rinse, Repeat: Remal-Hit Patharpratima in Bengal is Done With Empty Promises of Politicians

Patharpratima (WB): There is no good time for a cyclone. But if there has to be one, a week before voting in the biggest elections of the world is as good as any. Residents of the Cyclone Remal-hit Patharpratima community development block in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal know all too well that politicians will come calling with promises of rehabilitation and future preparedness, and that the situation will be back to square one after elections. It has happened before, they say.

Patharpratima, under the Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituency which will vote on June 1, was one of the worst-hit areas of West Bengal when Cyclone Remal hit over the weekend. The village did not even receive official warnings of the cyclone nor was any official evacuation carried out.

Even before the cyclone made landfall on May 26, River Bakchora in Patharpratima was restless. Scores of families that lived along the river in huts made of mud and polythene were busy protecting their weak dwelling amid heavy rain.

Jaba Das and his wife Minati Halder are among these families worst-hit by the cyclone. Eventually, they had to take shelter in the nearby school. Asked if political representatives visit their area, Das told News18:”Yes, they come during elections and then they never come. Each time they promise us a properly constructed dam, but don’t do anything in action. We are now used to it.”

Tapas Ghosh, another resident of the village, said: “There is supposed to be a dam here, but just see the condition of the dam. It’s almost non-existent. It broke in last year’s rain and now we are almost in the water.”

“We could not sleep last night because of the cyclone. Throughout the night it seemed our houses were just shaking and would collapse,” said Manasi, another resident of Patharpratima.

Fishing is the only source of income for these villages and come heavy rain or cyclone, their source of livelihood is cut off. Broken by the loss of income and loss of shelter, many in Patharpratima are not planning to vote at all while some others are angry at the lip service paid by politicians again and again.

Sandhya Das, a villager who was trying to set large stones and pebbles in river to save his small hut from being engulfed, told News18: “They will not help us. Instead, they will take money from contractors for the dam. Whatever money is given (for development work) is eaten up by local leaders. I need to save my family. That is why I am carrying pebbles to support this broken dam. They will create problems in this too.They say we can’t do this.”

The despair in the community is heart-breaking. An elderly resident sitting next to his mud hut says it would not be so bad “if the cyclone takes us”.

“We will die like this as nobody is bothered. We used to get 100 days’ worth of MGNREGA money. Now that too is stopped. If the cyclone takes us, it will be better for us as we can’t live like this for long.”

Coastal regions bore the brunt of Cyclone Remal’s fury, with significant infrastructural damage reported in both West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh, where winds reached speeds of up to 135 km/h.

In all, Cyclone Remal destroyed nearly 29,500 houses in 24 blocks and 79 municipal wards, mostly in the south coastal areas of West Bengal. Additionally, over 2,140 trees were uprooted, and about 1,700 electric poles fell in various parts of the state.

Six persons — one in Kolkata, two women in South 24 Parganas district, one in Panihati in North 24 Parganas district and a father-son duo in Memari in Purba Medinipur — lost their lives due to the cyclone.

Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase, Results Date, Exit Poll And Much More At News18 Website