Evacuees Streaming Into Overpopulated Murshidabad
From B. P. Kumar, BERHAMPORE (Murshidabad). July 17. – The rain stopped more than six hours ago and the children were crying for food. Smoke rose from the brick ovens but there was no fire. At the Ashok Kunja Avenue camp 15 miles from here. – Suniti Bala said that she could not cook because of fuel shortage.
The block development officer, Lalbagh, admitted that there was a shortage of fuel and said that arrangements were being made to improve the situation. These people were accustomed to using wood instead of coal and “this is a problem for us” he said.
In their attempt to provide the Bangladesh evacuees streaming into this overpopulated border district with some sort of accommodation, the district authorities have already used up every inch of high land belonging to the Government. About 250,000 people stay in the 150 camps of different sizes. A large number of families have also taken shelter in the ruins of the Katra Masjid. Mr. S. K. Magon, Additional District Magistrate, Said: “The relief camps have reached saturation point.”
The current spell of inclement weather has added to the miseries of the evacuees, many of whom have trekked 80 to 100 miles to come here. Some of them had taken shelter on the river embankments. “This was dangerous” a senior official said, “for if the embankments are damaged the situation in the district, which is affected by floods almost every year, will go out of control.” The evacuees are, therefore, not allowed to stay on the embankments.
Between 50% and 60% of the school buildings are being utilized to accommodate the evacuees. In the initial stages all school buildings had been used for this purpose. Six thousand families are to be accommodated in semipermanent huts and the construction of about 75% of them have been completed at Lootial, Jalangi, Raninagar, Domkal, Koldanga, Daulatabad and Lalgola. “We urgently need tents and tarpaulins. We have received about 200 pieces against our immediate requirement of 10,000″ the ADM said.
A little over 500,000 evacuees have come to this district so far. About 350,000 have registered their names in camps and about 150,000 are staying with their relatives and friends.
Till now the supply of food is smooth but it is stated that the present rate may not be maintained for long. “Besides 400 gm of rice and 100 gm of dal, we have to supply 300 gm of vegetables per head per day. Since the prices have gone up by 50% it is becoming difficult to procure 300 gm of vegetables for 30 paise”, the ADM said. If the refugees now staying with their relatives come to the camps, the problems will be aggravated.
|What strikes a visitor to the Murshidabad camps is that very few private relief organizations are helping the Government machinery to cope with this stupendous task. The American organization CARE has supplied protein-rich salad oil. 2,100 bags of CSM, a food mixture for children and milk powder. An Indian organization provides a mobile medical unit to look after three camps at Jalangi.
The authorities said that 325 people died of gestro-enterities, Chickenpox claimed another 159 lives.
At the Ashoke Kunja camp, which has been set up by leveling jungles and removing the debris of what was previously known as Humayun Manzil, in the Lalbagh block, 7,000 families have been accommodated. The medical unit opened there to treat about 100 outdoor patients a day. An evacuee doctor is in charge of the unit.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 18.07.1971