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The threat of climate change has been sidelined in the divisive campaign on this tiny island
Life on the island of Ghoramara revolves around the motor boat, the only link to the mainland. From 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., villagers shuttle between 4-Point and Ghoramara for all their needs.
Ghoramara lies near Sagar Island, which has a population of two lakh people and is the biggest island of the Sunderban archipelago. Sagar also hosts the annual Gangasagar pilgrimage.
Located 150 km south of Kolkata and spread over a shrinking 4.8 sq km, Ghoramara falls under the Sagar Assembly constituency in south 24-Parganas which goes to polls on April 1.
Election issues on this sinking and isolated island usually revolve around climate change. But this year, corruption in relief efforts post cyclone Amphan is the is the major issue for the residents. Ghoramara bore the brunt of the cyclone which battered south Bengal on May 20 last year.
The impact of the devastating cyclone is still visible on the island located where the river Hooghly meets the Bay of Bengal. Uprooted trees lie uncleared and several homes lie in ruins while the hungry waters have claimed more land. The local primary school stands dangerously close to the edge of an eroding bank.
On election-eve, the villagers wondered how many more years Ghoramara would be able to stay afloat. “Rehabilitation is the only solution,” they pointed out.
Discontent over relief
Though most of the villagers said they had received the ₹20,000 offered as a one-time relief by the State government to rebuild homes, some claimed they were yet to get assistance. Other relief promised by the government, including money for their destroyed betel leaf plantations or work under MGNREGA, did not reach the island. The lackadaisical relief work has led to protests against the local panchayat.
There are 1,200 families on the island, and a voters’ list of about 3,500-3,800, said Sareja Bibi, the only BJP gram panchayat member in the four-member panchayat. She is among those who did not get any Amphan relief except for a tarpaulin sheet.
But Ms Sareja is slightly better off than many other villagers, and managed to replace the tiles on her roof that were blow off by the cyclone, and has also replanted her betel leaf plantation. `
Migration mainstay
She says the voter list has shrunk because many of the men of the island were away on work, mostly heading to Thrissur in Kerala.
“We get ₹700 a day for a nine-to-five job in construction,” said Sheikh Noor Islam, who returned home when special trains were run during the lockdown last year and is actively involved in the elections. “We have to work outside because the sale of betel leaves give us only ₹15,000 per month, excluding the expenses required to nurture it. If we have to build homes elsewhere, where will the money come from?” he added.
Every house has men who have migrated to other States for work leaving behind the women to take care of children, the betel leaf vines and paddy crops.
Three sons of Sheikh Abdul Rauf, who has a tailoring job in Kolkata, are in Kerala. “There are no jobs here. We live at the mercy of nature — cyclones, high tides, monsoons,” said Mr. Rauf, who has had to rebuild his house at least seven times in the past 10 years.
The island is not connected to the electricity grid and several homes have installed solar panels. The primary health centre functions between 11.30 a.m. and 4 p.m. with staff coming to the island via the ferry. Due to pandemic, schools have been shut but children shoulder their backpacks and keep up with their lessons by taking classes with the few teachers on the island.
But it is not all gloom in Ghoramara. Rojina Khatun, 26, who is part of a self-help group which gives loans to women said many had benefited from the welfare schemes of the Trinamool Congress government.
Among the many women who were appreciative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s schemes, Ms Khatun said, “Some have started a poultry business, others cultivate betel leaves, send children for higher studies or spend for their marriage.”
Divisive campaign
The TMC candidate in Ghoramara is three-time MLA Bankim Chandra Hazra who won the 2016 elections by a little over 8,000 votes. The BJP, which had polled only 3,193 votes in 2016, is putting up a fight with its candidate Bikash Chandra Kamila drumming up support among both former CPI(M) and TMC followers. TMC and BJP poll graffiti, flags and posters compete on the walls even on the remote island.
But anger against the administration and a divisive campaign has taken a toll.
“We have been voting for TMC all along,” said Sheikh Basar, who lives at Bamankhali in Sagar and was in Ghoramara to sell locally-prepared ointments. “Instead of giving ₹20,000 to some, Didi should have given ₹1,000 to all… there would not be any discontent.”
Upset with the religious divide being created not only in the southernmost tip of Bengal but across the State, he lamented, “Can you look at my face and tell whether I am a Muslim or a Hindu? Why are political parties doing this? Why are people falling for it?”
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