The ruling establishment in Bengal has launched a series of initiatives in strife-torn Sandeshkhali in an apparent attempt to address the pent-up ire among villagers against ruling party leaders in the North 24-Parganas pocket.

As part of a confidence-building measure among the villagers, the state government has set up five camps in the area to receive complaints from local villagers.

Besides, the government has also created a mechanism to reach out to aggrieved people at their homes by deploying officials from the BDO office, who have been tasked to visit doorsteps and receive complaints from those people hesitant to visit the camps.

“The prime target is to gain the confidence of the local people by giving them a feeling that the government wants to know about the problems they have been facing.... Once people start reposing faith in the state administration, the problems will die down. This is important because the image of the state is being tarnished due to Sandeshkhali,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Sources in the administration said that the state was focusing on receiving complaints from those whose land parcels were captured by Sheikh Shahjahan, the absconding local Trinamul leader, and his associates, to set up bheris (ponds for pisciculture) by pumping in saline water.

On February 14, the North 24-Parganas district administration constituted a team headed by Sandeshkhali-II Block land and land reforms officer to examine the complaints of land grabbing and denial of patta (long-term settlement rights on government land).

Sources in the district administration said that initially complaints were received at the local block development office. But within two days, the district administration had to set up more camps in the troubled areas as the number of complaints was increasing.

The efforts by the authorities seem to have started yielding results as the process to address the main concern — land grab by local ruling party leaders — has already begun as the district administration distributed pattas to 32 persons on Monday.

“Some more villagers will be handed over pattas in the coming days once the land and land reforms department goes through the complaints forwarded to them,” said a source.

Sources said that poor villagers, who were given patta, were forced to part with their plots since their patta was not recorded due to the influence of Shahjahan and his team.

Officials believe that once pattas are recorded, the administration would start gaining the confidence of the local people.

Apart from the complaints over land-related issues, the administration is also communicating to local people that other problems of the residents would also be addressed.

Sources in district administration claimed that till Sunday 160 complaints were received concerning different departments.

"There were different types of complaints ... We have received complaints related to irregularities in the 100 days job scheme, illegal possession of job cards by the party leaders, non-payment of Laxmir Bhandar and old age pension for political reasons and other issues apart from a large number of land-related issues," an official said.

For example, in Daspara of Sandeshkhali, Shariful Amin Chowdhury from Hansnabad submitted a complaint at a camp, alleging that he did not get Rs 19.50 lakh which Sandeshkhali-II panchayat samiti owed to him as rental charge of his earthmover.

Shariful alleged that in 2022 his machine was hired by Shahjahan Sheikh and Shibu Hazra for the construction of earthen dykes in Jeliakhali area of Sandeshkhali. But the rental of his machine which rose to Rs 19.5 lakh was not paid even after completion of the work.

Eventually he had to sell off the earthmover as he could not pay his EMIs.

"Shahjahan and Shibaprasad assured me they would pay me in parts.... But I got no money,” Shariful alleged.

The police are also regularly visiting the areas to earn the confidence of villagers.

“The prime aim is to receive complaints from women in case they were physically harassed by Shahjahan or his aides. If we can frame strong cases against the associates of Shahjahan, we can gain confidence of the women,” said a bureaucrat.

Sources said that the situation has changed to some extent after the police slapped a gangrape charge against Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar, associates of Shahjahan, on Saturday.

“This was possible after a woman came forward and lodged her complaint with the police. Now, it is our responsibility to make the women of the area believe that if they come forward and lodge their grievances, strong cases could be slapped against the accused,” said a police officer in the district.

A section of the officials in the administration said that the effort to earn the confidence of the local people would never be successful until the police arrest Seikh Shahjahan, the absconding Trinamul leader, as most of the people have grievances against him.

“If people feel that the ruling establishment is standing by Shahjahan, the authorities cannot earn the confidence of common people. The easiest way to earn confidence is to arrest Shahjahan and slap stern charges against him,” a senior bureaucrat said.