Jute mill belt still under grip of fear

HAZINAGAR (Naihati): Neighbours have turned enemies in this part of Bengal's jute mill belt at Naihati in North 24-Parganas even after the bloodletting stopped at Hazinagar on Tuesday . More than a hundred families have left their home and hearth out of fear after mobs -both Hindus and Muslims -ransacked shops, torched homes on either sides of the Paper Mill More that stand as a line of control between the two communities.The two jute mills -Hukumchand Jute Mill and Hazinagar Jute Mill -are yet to resume operations.
Combat teams of the state police did the rounds in the localities along Nelson Raod, M C Mitra Road, Bankapara Road, Bolapara, Karigarpara warning groups whenever they found them loitering on the road.Rows of police vehicles including an anti-riot vehicle lay parked at Nayabazar to reassure traders and citizens. Public buses on the 85 route have started plying along with few autos and totos. Yet, communities fear retaliation as they cross the Paper Mill More.
Sixty-five year old Ram Naresh Shaw stood dumb-founded in front of his grocery shop at Nayabazar. " Armed men came and looted the shop without giving us the scope to down the shutters," he said. Retired bank employee Bijoy Pratap Singh (73) said he had never witnessed such a scene since his childhood. "I used to work in Kolkata in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was pulled down. I remember going to office with my hands up. There was no such situation at Hazinagar then what I am facing now," Singh said. Kamaluddin fled his Bolapara home with his pregnant wife after the homes were set on fire. He has taken shelter in a different locality. "Who will give me a home after we have a child?" Kamaluddin said.
Unlike other places, Hazinagar, Garifa are mixed localities.The Paswans, Gonds, Singhs and also the Ansaris came from far away villages in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to work in the jute mills and have settled here for ages.
"We are now denied vegetables at the local markets," said Reshma Khatun. The complaint comes two days after Trinamool heavyweights Mukul Roy and Firhad Hakim and local Trinamool MLAs Arjun Singh and Partha Bhowmik held a peace rally in the locality. Police met traders at the local Adarsha Sporting Club on Tuesday .
Communities keep trading charges against themselves, putting the blame on local police, Trinamool leaders and the Bajrang Dal. "I don't blame those who ransacked my ration shop. They are innocent people. Iwant you to find out what led to this clash. Who are the brains behind?" said ration dealer Jitendra Singh. Names keep pouring in -Gani Khan, Azad Khan, Pappu Qureshi from Trinamool and Arun, Barun and Satish Jaiswal from the Bajrang Dal. Residents have video clips recorded in their cell phones to substantiate their charges. The Left have no space in this paradigm where a new narrative based on religious identities seems to be under way .
The only ray of hope is Biswanath Shaw and his wife Munni. Like others, the couple was about to leave his home surrounded by Muslim neighbours."They all came to our protection and wouldn't let us go. We all work in a jute mill. Since then, I have been under the care of my neighbours," Shaw said, repeating the same short story --` Adab' that Samaresh Basu had written in 1946.