A 40-year-old Durga Puja could not be held at Hossainpur in Murshidabad’s Farakka this year as the Durga temple as well as 26 houses – made of both mud and bricks -- were sucked into the waters of the Ganga last month.
Along with the 26 families, the administration has shifted 25 more to a nearby road where the affected people have makeshift arrangements for their stay.
The Ganga, swollen by the monsoon rains, had eroded the northern bank at Hossainpur from September 18 gobbling up 26 houses and threatening 25 more houses.
The waters also ate up a part of a metalled road running parallel to the riverbank. Now, an 8km detour is required to reach the village.
In two weeks from September 18, 26 homes were sucked into the river after a sudden erosion of the bank. The waters also eroded the village’s only Durga temple.
The affected families are all now housed in the makeshift structures on an abandoned 200m stretch of the only concrete road connecting the village.
Haripada Mondal, a gram panchayat member and secretary of the Hossainpur Durga Puja committee, said: “We had arranged a meeting last month in which individual puja subscriptions were fixed. But the Durga temple went into the waters and all our hopes of holding the puja were dashed. It is a time of grief for us, unfortunately, this year.”
Mondal’s own home, a brick and cement structure, was among the homes lost to the erosion.
The labour force of Hussainpur is largely agricultural. Some villagers are also employed at the Farakka NTPC plant. Prasanta Sarkar, an NTPC employee and resident of the village, said: “So far, we have not seen the authorities take any action to remedy the damages.”
The block development officer of Farakka, A.A.M. Ansar, said: “It is the Farakka Barrage Authority’s responsibility to take erosion control measures. They have inspected the place and work is expected to begin soon.”
The general manager of the Farakka Barrage, Saibal Ghosh, said: “We will take up elaborate erosion protection work at Hossainpur. We will start the work before December.”
