|
| Mamata batters Aila-hit Left govt | |
| Arajat Roy / Kolkata June 02, 2009, 0:47 IST | |
As the Aila-hit Sundarbans is still suffering from the lack of drinking water, food and other relief materials, the villagers agitated in presence of the chief minister when he visited today some parts of the affected area. The chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya went to Gosaba today to see for himself the extent of the disaster and the relief works thereon. While he was discussing the situation with the district officials, a number of villagers demonstrated against the slow and inadequate response of the administration to their misery. Kanti Ganguli, the minister in charge of Sundarbans development has admitted that the situation in those areas is really grave.
The criticism came from a different quarters as well. Mamata Banerjee, the Minister of Railways and the main opposition leader in West Bengal, has made a scathing attack on the state administration for failing to reach drinking water to thousands of villagers who have been water-logged for the last eight days there. Acting as a head of the government in waiting, Mamata has directed her team of ministers to tour extensively the cyclone devastated areas and send her the reports.
“After getting all the inputs from my ministers I will prepare a complete report and submit it to the district administration,” Mamata Banerjee informed. She claimed that in Sandeshkhali, Hingalganj, Gosaba and some other worst affected areas a number of people are still having no access to drinking water, baby food and other essential things. She said, “Today is eighth day after Aila hit the south Bengal.. Yet, the state administration could not reach even drinking water to those people! Why the administration could not even arrange for halogen tablets to purify the water there?” She indicated that as emergency measures her party would mobilize medical teams and baby food to send to these areas.
The damages caused to more than 400 kilometer long embankments in the area is of serious concern now. As the embankments have been breached in several places saline water has flooded village after village destroying the paddy field and sources of potable water. With the high tide expected during the full moon on June 7 there is an urgent need to repair these embankments to avoid further disaster. But so far little progress has been made on that. Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the department of irrigation did neglect the maintenance work of the embankments and now the people are suffering for that.
The state government has already made a demand to the centre to declare it as a national disaster and asked for Rs.1000 crore as grant from the National Calamity Contingency Fund.
|
|
Content Guide
