A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed officials to fix anomalies in the distribution of Cyclone Amphan relief, protests erupted in different districts of West Bengal on Thursday over irregularities in relief distribution.
Protests were reported at Namkhana in South 24 Parganas; Nandkumar and Kanthi in East Medinipur; Pandua in Bardhaman; Bongaon in North 24 Parganas; and Nasibpur in Hooghly district. Protests were organised primarily by supporters of Left parties and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but at some places villagers also targeted functionaries of gram panchayats alleging that relief money had not reached people affected by the cyclone.
‘Block highway’
At Namkhana, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Kanti Ganguly threatened to block the National Highway if irregularities in the distribution of relief continued. The CM had on Wednesday, after an all-party meeting, assured that the list of beneficiaries would be displayed at the block level.
“At some places, some people have been deprived. The administration has been asked to make the list of beneficiaries public. The list will be available at the BDO’s (Block Development Officer) office. There is no scope for party politics in the distribution of relief,” Ms. Banerjee said.
During the day, leaders from both the BJP and the Left parties accused the ruling party of siphoning out funds meant for Amphan relief. The Trinamool Congress leadership held a press conference saying that the party had taken action against party workers or local leaders involved in corruption.
Lack of transparency
“There was lack of transparency in the distribution of relief, which is resulting in anger among the people. The list of beneficiaries should have been approved after holding a meeting of the gram sansad in every area,” said the Right to Food and Work Network-West Bengal’s Anuradha Talwar. She added that there had been more than a dozen of protests in which people cited irregularities in the distribution of relief.
Cyclone Amphan stuck West Bengal on May 20 and caused widespread destruction in coastal districts of south Bengal. The Centre has released ₹1,000 crore, while the State government has released funds to the tune of ₹6,500 crore for relief and restoration works.
