“Our mud house in the village has collapsed. My mother and wife are there. I am stuck here,” said Debabrata Pramanik from West Bengal, who has been working as a daily wager in Mallappuram, Kerala, about 2,500 kms away from home. The lockdown and Cyclone Amphan – which made landfall on May 20 and pulverised the delta islands and coastal regions of West Bengal — have dealt a double blow to thousands of migrant labourers from West Bengal like Debabrata.
The cyclone led to a dam collapse near Debabrata’s village, Gurguria, which is in the Kultali block in the South 24 Parganas district. The houses of these villagers got flooded and later collapsed due to strong winds. They don’t have a place to live.
Many people move from villages in West Bengal to different states in search of work. But now, they are stuck in different cities and states because of the lockdown and are not able to help their families back home.
In Kerala, there are 28 others like Debabrata who have not yet been able to get a train to go back home in West Bengal. “I am in a lot of trouble. My house has collapsed. Whatever little food grain was kept in the house, got drenched. My mother, wife and my one-and-a-half-year-old son are there in the house. Right now, we do not even have money to call a mason and fix the roof,” said Debabrata, while talking to Gaon Connection over the phone.
Super Cyclone Amphan was categorised as an extremely severe cyclonic storm. The death toll stands at 98. The state chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a cyclone relief package of Rs 6,250 crore to assist the affected people to build houses, compensate farmers, and carry out reconstruction activities.
In many areas, there is no electricity even after so many days. Due to the network problems, migrant labourers trapped in other states are not able to interact with their family members in the village.
“The last time I spoke to my mother, she informed that many houses in the village have collapsed. People are living in the village school. They are not getting clean drinking water and enough food. We are not getting any trains to go back home. There have been constant delays,” said Debabrata.
Due to the lack of work for the past two months due to the lockdown, Debabrata does not have money to arrange for the travel. “I only have Rs 400 left with me. I am spending very cautiously on food. We eat once a day and we haven’t got any help from the government.”
He is not alone. The house of Babla Sardar, 19, who lives in West Radha Nagar village of South 24 Parganas, has also collapsed. His father and elder brother are still trapped in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, respectively. His mother and sister-in-law are back home.
Talking to Gaon Connection over the phone, Babla said: “The roof of the house, the beams … everything has collapsed. Nothing is spared. We are in great difficulty. Baba (father) and brother are also trapped far away. They are not able to get a train.” He added: “There is no electricity here. The network is also shaky. With great difficulty, we managed to charge our phone for 15-20 minutes so that we can contact our families.”
Babla’s father, Uttam Sardar, is trapped in the Issa region of Tamil Nadu. He said: “There are no trains from here. We should have been at home right now, helping our families. My younger son called up and informed me that there is nothing left in the house. The lockdown and the cyclone have ruined everything.”
These migrant labourers, who moved to different cities, have not only lost their jobs during the lockdown, but Cyclone Amphan has destroyed their houses back home.
Due to the breakdown of the dam near Krishnadaspur village in the South 24 Parganas district, houses of hundreds of people have collapsed. Bani, who has somehow managed to reach his village Krishnadaspur from Kolkata, said: “The river water has flooded my house. Now, we do not even have a roof over our heads. When it rains, the water enters the house. We don’t think we will be able to live here again.”
Bani’s father is a farmer in the village. Bani added: “My father’s farms also got ruined. This year we won’t be able to cultivate anything. We don’t have cash or vegetables to eat.”
Amphan has badly affected the lives of the people in hundreds of villages and many people have not got any help from the government. “There is one Harinullah village in North 24 Parganas. Almost everyone from this village, about 3,000 people, work as labourers and daily wagers in other cities,” said Tanmoy Ghosh, secretary, Bengal Sanskriti Manch, which is helping the storm-affected villagers with food and shelter.
He added: “So far, neither the administration nor any political party person has reached there for help. The people of the village have nothing to eat. We are trying to arrange for food. But the situation is still very bad.”
Mrinalini from the West Bengal Khet Majdoor Samiti, an organisation that is helping cyclone victims, said: “These people are facing a severe financial crunch. Their houses have collapsed and they don’t have the money to rebuild their homes. We are helping them with food and water, but a lot need to be done.”
