Cyclone Yaas has dealt a double blow to Madhab Jana, 35, a resident of Gobindabasan village in East Midnapore’s Digha. The cyclone, which hit the state on May 26, has thrown him out of his home and destroyed his source of livelihood.
While he remains homeless for almost 10 days since the cyclone, his shop situated on the Old Digha beach, which he acquired on lease from the local administration a few years back, has been damaged by floodwater.
“We are currently living at a relative’s house. Hopefully in a few days, we can get back to our home and make it habitable after a few repairs. But what about my stall?” Madhab wondered. “I used to run a shack previously. Three years ago, I took this stall on lease from the Digha Shankarpur Development Authority and it cost me Rs1.36 lakh. I also paid a monthly rent of Rs 100 to the authority. Now, the stall, along with the products kept inside, has been completely damaged,” a teary-eyed Madhab added.
A large number of the 2,000 odd stalls situated along the Digha coast have either been fully or partially damaged in the cyclone. These stalls — a major tourist attraction and an important source of livelihood for local people — mostly sold fancy seashells and similar products used for household decorations.
Many of these stalls are owned by the likes of Madhab, who reside within a few kilometres from the coast. Gobindabasan, Madhab’s village, is less than a kilometre away from the sea. Water has gusted into these villages during the cyclone and many of these areas are still flooded.
“The loss we have incurred is around Rs 1.5 lakh,” said Sumita, 30, Madhab’s wife. “Moreover, everything in my house, including television, refrigerator and furniture has been destroyed,” she added.
The likes of Madhab and Sumita are staring at a bleak future. Their lives depended on the sea-side stalls. These businesses were slowly but efficiently recovering from the losses they had suffered during the pandemic induced lockdown last year. But the cyclone has come as a double blow for them washing away their shops and houses alike.
A widowed sea shell product seller and Madhab’s neighbour Kanan Majhi, 50, didn’t even have a proper stall since she couldn’t afford the money. She would sit on the road near the beach with her products every day. Her goods worth Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 were packed inside her house and all of those has been destroyed by floodwater.
In spite of all their sufferings, government help or relief has not reached these villages. While some NGOs have come with food, tarpaulin and other relief materials, the local administration was nowhere to be seen, Madhab complained.
“NGOs and some individuals have helped us but that isn’t enough. We have lost our livelihoods. If the government doesn’t stand up to the situation there can be no relief for us,” Kanan said.
However, Bishnupada Roy, the BDO of Ramnagar 1 block, said: “We are providing relief and tarpaulin to everybody. But the losses have been great and if someone has been left out we will look into it.”
Ashutosh Samanta, the secretary of Digha Stall Owner’s Association, admitted that most of the stalls and the goods inside them had been damaged and washed away. The association has requested the DSDA to repair the stalls and take care of the losses.
“These permanent stalls were built after Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011 and has been a lot of help for us. We hope the government will take care of the damaged stalls too,” Samanta said.
State fisheries minister and local MLA Akhil Giri said the issue had been brought to the notice of chief minister. The issue of helping the stall owners was being looked into.
