Sonarpur held hostage at home

SONARPUR: An upper-middle-class locality in the southern fringes of the city has been inundated for over a fortnight, forcing many to move in with relatives elsewhere. Those who remain, live in perpetual fear as the water level continues to inch up with every bout of heavy shower.
Mission Palli, located around 3km from Kamalgazi off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and not far from Sonarpur rail station, has beautiful bungalows and smart low-rise apartment blocks.Its proximity to the city and an abundance of greenery attracted many to set up residence here. But come monsoon, the dream locality turns nightmarish. The first heavy shower drowns the area and maroons residents for days.
The situation has worsened this year, with Mission Palli being under water since July 9-10. It has been nearly three weeks but the water seems far from receding.
Prawn exporter Suhas Sarkar, who spent a fortune on a palatial bungalow here, has not been able to step out ever since nightlong rain flooded the locality. As the meteorological office issues another warning of heavy rainfall in south Bengal, Sarkar is contemplating whether to stick on or move out.
“I built this house with a lot of passion. It was adjudged the best bungalow in Bengal by Lafarge Cements. But now, I wish I hadn’t invested so much emotion in it. Every time it rains, I peep out of the window, tracking the rise in water level. We can’t breathe fresh air as the windows have to be kept shut to keep the stench of putrefying stagnant water out. I can’t go to my office in Hastings and LIC agents are refusing to collect policy premiums from my residence. The neighbourhood shops are all shut and provision is slowly getting exhausted. I have become a hostage in my own home,” said Sarkar.
What is usually a lively locality has sunk into despair. Even in homes that are still occupied, there is no sign of life. With nothing to look at but the sea of still water, residents stay indoors. Only those who have no other option venture out, wading through waist to knee-deep water.
Sayantani Gupta, a first year student at Andrews College in Garia, has to wade through the filthy water and then travel an hour to reach college. The first thing she does there is wash her legs vigorously to avoid scabs. “There’s a constant itch till I have a thorough wash. The thought of having to wade through the water again at the end of the day gives me shivers,” she said.
Parents of students at Teghoria Primary School spend the afternoons casting anxious glances at the overcast skies. As Srabanti (Class IV) waded through the water with her friend Baisakhi (Class V), her mother prayed for their safe return. If it rains for three-four hours, they will get stranded.
Dental surgeon Debasis Maitra hasn’t been able to open his chamber since July 10. With water shutting out the area from the rest of the world, he has no hopes of getting a patient till the water recedes. “I am marooned and helpless. Barring a couple of emergency patients, there’s nothing to do but wait hopelessly,” he said.
Hopeless it really is with the municipality and state irrigation department offering no solution to the crisis. About 70% of the 35 wards of Sonarpur-Rajpur Municipality is inundated and some residents were moved into schools in Kamrabad and Chanditala.
Municipality chairman Pallab Kumar Das said he tried to find a way out but has failed. “We are trying to pump out water but to no avail. Till it continues to rain, it will not make any difference as there is no drainage line linking the affected localities with Begumpur canal,” he said.
Sonarpur MLA Firdousi Begum echoed him, saying, “Three pumps have been installed to drain out the water. But unless the rain stops, the situation is unlikely to change.”
Irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee, who toured the inundated localities, including Mission Palli, admitted the situation was critical but had no solution to offer. “Sections of the canal are encroached upon. People have set up homes and shops there. These need to be cleared immediately,” he said.
Former state election commissioner Mira Pandey, who lives in Ramkrishna Palli, next to Mission Palli, is bearing the situation with fortitude. But each time she drives through the perpetually waterlogged streets, she wonders how long it is going to be.
“I can’t deny the sinking feeling when I return home. People are living in hell,” she said.