A different railway link to Churulia

Kanchan Siddiqui
CHURULIA, Feb 26, 2011: Foundation for a railway link to Kazi Nazrul Islam’s birthplace Churulia was laid by union minister of state for shipping, Mr Mukul Roy today. Though the vintage railway link established in 1872 by the British and lost to a state run JV coalmine couldn’t be retrieved.

In 2010 railway budget, Railway Minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee had declared reestablishing a railway link to Churulia village located about 18 km from Asansol town beside The Ajoy river. Churulia happened to be an important railway station on Andal-Sarisatoli section where train services came to a halt in 1988 followed by huge losses. In course of time the railway tracks were uprooted by the iron scrap mafias and the entire railway installation including the tracks, station room, platforms were eaten up by a state-partnered JV captive coal mine producing coal for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation-owned power utilities. The mine came into operation since 1995.

FIR against former CPI-M leaders and cadres were lodged with the Jamuria PS against the robbery of the railway line which became prey of iron scrap smugglers under the active patronize of the party men. The CPI-M incidentally had expelled a section of the leaders and cadres following t offence. Though the party remained mum about state JV mine’s grabbing of railway installation gradually. The former Railway standing committee chairman, Mr Basudev Acharya said: “The standing committee had nothing to do with the grabbing of railway line by the mine. The state had leased the property to the mine.” He shrugged off responsibility saying: “In Dhanbad-Jharia section a railway line similarly was eaten up by a coalmine earlier.”

Mr Kazi Khairul Anam Siddiqui, a retired land revenue executive and the founder general secretary, Churulia Nazrul Academy, brought the matter to the notice of Miss Banerjee. He wrote a letter to Miss Banerjee on 26 October, 2009, proposing the restoration of the old railway services for Churulia. He said: “I am happy to learn that foundation for a railway link to Churulia was laid today. but it is not the vintage route where many great personalities including Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Shailajananda Mukherjee used to travel time to time.”

The Asansol Divisional Railway authority had conducted several survey works in last one year to help establishing a fresh railway link to Churulia. Finally the 9 Km Baraboni-Churulia route was explored. Mr Roy, the shipping minister after laying foundation said: “The state government was responsible for permanent loss of the vintage railway that was having a glorious past. Now to help bringing back services to Kazi Nazrul’s birthplace, Miss Banerjee has responded to the appeal made by the local responsible persons.” Mr Roy also declared that he would extend Rs 5 lakh aide to Nazrul Academy from his MPLAD fund.
Ends
[Pix below & also sent in another file]

‘Paradise’ that suffers under Maoist threat

Kanchan Siddiqui The Statesman
Publication Date : 26-03-2010
MUKUTMONIPUR, March 26: Unabated threat by the Left wing ultras along with the changing climate have brought trouble for Bengal’s paradise, Mukutmonipur.
The continued Maoist menace since about a decade back has made people so regressive that the place is facing an acute dearth of tourists, even during the winter season.
This apart, migratory birds have stopped flocking to Mukutmonipur, considered to be an attraction for the reason during the winter season, due to the sudden change in climatic conditions as a result of global warming. Siberian birds used to flock to the vastly stretched congenial dam water along the confluence of the Kansavati, the Kumari and the Shilavati rivers.
This year, according to Mr K Devial, DFO, Bankura (South): “The late winter arrival has possibly resulted in such less inflow of migratory birds. Some flocks of ducks however have arrived and are seen swimming across the dam water but they are less in number compared to the previous years.”
The stagnant water of the 440 feet deep reservoir look like a large blue tinted glass mirror reflecting the vast expanse of sky over it. The view of the sunset with the lake on the four ground is one of the attractions of the place.
The experience of the moonlit night around the reservoir makes Mukutmonipur a perfect place to be for tourists.The Mukutmonipur-Jhilimili circuit that is getting polluted due to the reckless and increasingly perturbed behaviour by the tourists.
The local administration with the help of the panchayat had to chalk a plan to impose certain restrictions to check this menace. Every year Mukutmonipur and Jhilimili sites used to record more than a lakh revelers. The second biggest dam of India is located 55 km away from Bankura district town. The place is famous for its natural bounty.
The undulating terrain along the southern edge of the Kansavati water reservoir is another attraction. The continued Maoist menace in the villages falling under Ranibandh and Barikul police station, have triggered panic among the tourists.
Mr Chandan Mahato, a vendor of terracotta craftworks in the area said: “Tourists are afraid to come to this place and people hardly come for picnics here since the last five years.” Mr Rajat Ghosh, a boatman said: “The unabated politics has left people like us to suffer.”
In the last nine years, maoists have allegedly killed eleven persons in Barikul and Ranibandh police station areas. The Hijli jungle corridor beside the Jhilimili stretch is believed to be the den of Maoists. The Maoist cadres from the Lalgarh squad as well from Jharkhand use to camp in Hijli corridor prior to any of their operations. In the last week of December, Maoists allegedly killed two CPI-M leaders leaving the locals panic-struck.
Police, however, have failed to lend any solution to the menace. Mr Vishal Garg, SP, Bankura admitted: “The forces use to patrol in the area but the situation could not be brought under control. ”

Churulia will have trains, again

Kanchan Siddiqui ASANSOL, 24 FEB 2010: The railway minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, today promised to retrieve an old railway service (see SNS photo) that got lost to a coal mine in the mid-1980s, after suffering heavy financial losses. She declared during her budget speech that railway services linking Churulia - the birthplace of Kazi Nazrul Islam- would soon be brought into operation. The railway services linking Andal junction with Gaurangadihi under the Eastern Railway were withdrawn in the mid-1980s due to heavy losses. In course of time the railway tracks were uprooted by the iron scrap mafias and the entire railway installation including the tracks had become a state-partnered JV captive coal mine for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation-owned power utilities. Mr Kazi Khairul Anam Siddiqui, a retired land revenue executive and the founder secretary, Churulia Nazrul Academy, brought the matter to the notice of Miss Banerjee. He wrote a letter to Miss Banerjee on 26 October, 2009, proposing the restoration of the old railway services in Churulia. The services on the Andal – Rupnarayanpur – via Ikrah – Churulia railway route were started by the British government in 1872 mainly for transport of coal. Many great personalities including Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Shailajananda Mukherjee had travelled in this section several times. Kazi Nazrul's friends used to take this train to go to Churulia, to meet him. In the late 1990s the DRM, Asansol sold the railway track and installation to the coal mine authority. With the railway minister’s budget declaration of retrieving the railway services across Andal – Ikrah – Churulia - Gourangadihi, Mr Siddiqui expressed his happiness. He said: “It is really a dream come true for me and thousands of residents of Jamuria block. It is also to be mentioned that the railway minister did not ignore the appeal which did not require any reference from political leaders.” The DRM, Asansol, Mr BK Gayen inspected Churulia last Monday to help prepare input to the railway ministry.

A poet in uniform

Kanchan Siddiqui ANDAL, 14 APRIL 2010: A poet and a policeman. That's how Mr Jitendranath Goswami, a sub-inspector with the state police, describes himself with a deprecating smile.Currently posted in Midnapore East district, Mr Goswami had earlier served with the State Armed Police. He also did stints at the Bhatar and Andal police stations. From Barjora in Bankura, Mr Goswami started policing in 1984. But it was in 1999 that his first compilation of poems was published.Does he find it difficult balancing his poetic sensibilities with his professional brief? “The poet and the policeman in me live quite amicably. There is no conflict. I love being a poet and a policeman.” But Mr Goswami finds it disappointing that the people whom the custodians of law are assigned to serve, prefer to keep a distance from their protectors. “It’s a pity that a policeman is always looked down upon by people though he is tasked with taking care of them.” He added: “I always feel depressed when having to face the people’s wrath. It happened in Andal and in Bhatar, Burdwan. I don't understand why people can’t accept a policeman as a friend.”“Ke je kokhon thomke darai/ Kon je banke Acholoyaton jibon jure” ~ was a line inspired by the travails of a woman deserted by her husband who had turned to police to seek redress. “I was so moved... I felt I had to capture her agony in poetry.”Mr Goswami found his mentor in former Durgapur ASP Mr PK Das who, upon discovering Mr Goswami’s verse in leading literary magazines, took the initiative to bring out a compilation of Mr Goswami's works. “I was hesitant but he (Mr Das) egged me on. All the copies of of my first volume of poetry Dighol Samudre Raktim Surjyodoy have been sold out.” His second book of verses will be published soon. Mr Goswami’s wife Chaitali, a dancer herself, appreciates her husband’s poetic sensibilities. She said: “My husband is a poet and a policeman. But it’s his pure heart that I treasure the most.”

Serving it right with poetry

Kanchan Siddiqui BANKURA, 21 APRIL 2010: Dr Rajat Kanti Singha Chowdhury seems to have been doubly blessed. A descendant of the Bhelaidiha royal family in Bankura the youth attends to hundreds of patients at the ESI Corporation’s hospital on one hand and composes poetry tirelessly, round the year. His patients too are all praise for him. They cannot stop raving about his gentle healing manner and the politeness with which he enquires about their health. It is because of him that their days in the hospital ward is brightened.He speaks in mild voice that sets him apart from other physicians.But thats not all. Apart from a healing touch, the doctor also boasts of a creative side. He is the poet of Fera ~ his first composition published in January 2009 which was very much the brainchild of his wife Mrs Mousumi Singha Chowdhury. Mrs Chowdhury is a student of literature and has translated a few of her husband’s compositions into Hindi. She said: “His poetry shares mystic bond with nature and talks about the Bankura rivers, forests and barren land stretched across hundreds of acres.” "Jekhane Medinipur Dhalu hoye neme ase Kansai er buke, Moram medur math molayem hoye ase godhuli alote," is a stanza of the title composition ~ Fera.He describes the land that is now a Maoist-infested area and has witnessed numerous gunbattles between the ultras and the combat forces for a few years. Dr Chowdhury, however, has been keen in depicting the natural beauty of the Bankura terrains. He said: “I got inspiration from my parents and grandparents who used to taught me how to choose proper words to describe one's true emotion.” Dr Chowdhury has been awarded with Bijoy Padak for his contributions in the field of literature. His poems have been published by eminent magazines such as Anustup, Desh, Krittibas, Kaladhwani, Kobita Protimase and The Sunday Statesman. “His readers find him to be a sensitive poet,” said Mr Rupak das, secretary, Bangla Bhasa Chetana Samity.

India's illegal coal mines turn into death pits

Shaikh Azizur Rahman
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
25 November 2006
ASANSOL, India -- When news of the midnight accident at the main coal pit at Gangtikuli reached the pregnant young wife of miner Pradip Bauri, she feared the worst.
By the time Kasuri Bauri and a boatload of fellow villagers -- all with relatives working at the mine -- reached the scene nearly two miles down the Damodar River, the illegal mine was completely flooded. Water was gushing through the shaft from an adjacent mine, and the villagers, armed with hand tools, were powerless to stop it.
"He died a painful death because no one will come in to help us in this illegal mine now. It is a wretched life," said Mrs. Bauri, banging her forehead against the wall of the pit, her grief played out before television cameras a day after the Aug. 1 disaster.
About 150 illegal miners are thought to have died in the pit, but it is doubtful the exact toll will ever be known. The case has brought attention to India's illegal mines, which are controlled by criminal syndicates.
Stories change
By the time police arrived at the Gangtikuli mine to investigate rumors of a disaster, Mrs. Bauri and others had changed their stories.
Police sources said that when she was asked if her husband was buried at Gangtikuli, she said her husband had no connection with illegal mining and he worked as a porter 220 miles away in Calcutta.
She repeated the same story to this reporter this week, but fellow villagers confirmed what was clear from the grief she showed on TV immediately after the disaster, that her husband was dead. Her brother-in-law also died in the mine, villagers said.
"Political pressure forced us to come to Gangtikuli. But villagers did not report any of their relatives missing here," said a police officer who attended the scene from the nearest police station.
Habul Bauri, a watchman at the illegal mine, said there were at least 150 persons working in the pit on the night of the flooding, and none escaped.
'Ordered' not to tell
The father of another miner said that hours after the accident, the criminal syndicate that ran the mine threatened the villagers not to tell anyone that they had lost family members in the pit.
"If it was a government-run mine, within minutes, a rescue operation would have begun. Simply because they were lifting coal illegally, we could not cry for help and the government did not help us," said Ganesh Bauri, a middle-aged man in the village of Khayer Kiyari which is thought to have lost about 30 men in the Gangtikuli accident.
"I have lost my son. But I cannot tell anyone of this big loss. I cannot even shed tears openly, I have been ordered. It makes the tragedy more painful for me." Now, three months after the mine disaster Kasuri Bauri and Ganesh Bauri are still afraid to reveal that they had lost their loved ones at the illegal coal mine at Gangtikuli.
Villagers say the local "coal mafia" routinely covers up such tragedies to keep their lucrative businesses running.
There are thought to be about 500 illegal mines run by about 150 different criminal groups and persons around the Asansol coal field, where Gangtikuli is located.
It is thought there are 60,000 illegal mines and about half a million illegal miners in the eastern Indian coal belt.
Bribes paid to police
A retired manager of a government-run coal field said the coal mafia could operate because bribes were paid to police and villagers worked in dangerous conditions simply to have a job.
"If a disaster as big as Gangtikuli's gets exposed at a national level, pressure from powerful agencies could stop illegal coal mining in the area, causing a massive loss to the mafias and others in the game," said the retired manager.
According to a study by DISHA, a social activist group in the east Indian mining city of Asansol, in the illegal coal mines in the West Bengal-Jharkhand coal belt every year about 300 large-scale accidents take place, killing at least 2,000 miners. In most cases the deaths go unreported because of a police-mafia nexus.
"A police inspector who earns an annual salary of 90,000 rupees (U.S. $2,000) can easily get 20 or 30 times as much in bribe from the mafias if he is posted anywhere in the coal belt. It is like winning a jackpot for him.
"He can never act against the operation of any illegal mine," said a local journalist.
When for safety or other feasibility-related reasons authorities stop lifting coal from a mine, it is filled up with sand, as per rule.
"But, mafias in no time take control of such abandoned mines, clear the sand and start lifting coal engaging a huge work force of miners on daily wage. These poor daily wage miners who, working under pressure from their bosses to lift as much coal as possible, often flout standard safety-related norms, inviting tragedies for themselves inside mine," said an officer with government-run Mines Rescue Station.
Press exposes dangers
However, extensive press coverage and a campaign by senior political figures have exposed both the severity of the Gangtikuli accident and the hazardous conditions that prevail across the illegal mining industry.
Finally, pressure from different quarters forced the government of West Bengal state, where Gangtikuli is located, to announce a crackdown on illegal mining in the area.
Two weeks after the Gangtikuli accident West Bengal's chief secretary, Amit Kiran Deb, said his government "would spare no means to stop illegal mining."
This week Mr. Deb said that police had closed down more than 1,500 illegal coal mines by the end of October.
"We have also arrested more than 500 illegal miners. Some trucks carrying illegal coal have been seized and our operation is continuing," said Mr. Deb.
But social analysts have expressed doubts about the ability of the government to shut down the mines.
"For decades the police-mafia nexus has remained in place. It is very difficult to dismantle this network of corruption. The long arm of organized crime can reach very high in the police administration. In one case action was taken against a police officer found to be in collusion with the coal mafia. But the officer who replaced him was found to be equally corrupt," said Kanchan Siddiqui, a commentator at the Calcutta-based daily Statesman.
"Maybe in the wake of the Gangtikuli disaster police have been forced to act against some mines. But it appears to be a temporary measure. Those mines will be operational again by the mafias soon, within a few months."
'Lifeblood' for people
One operator of an illegal coal mine in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal who employs about 120 miners admitted to paying a monthly bribe of 25,000 rupees (U.S. $540) to the police. He said when rain stopped work he did not pay the bribe.
"Sometimes they become angry and ask me to send the men to the pit as soon as possible. Sometimes I even feel that I am in this business to serve police or, I am employed by the police," he said.
Another illegal mine operator said many workers were prepared to brave the dangerous conditions because they can earn twice as much as the average rural laborer. He said even if the mines were closed, the workers themselves would find a way to mine the precious coal.
Those behind the illegal mining said they were providing much-needed jobs. One politician, who is rumored to run 15 illegal mines, described the trade as "the lifeblood for most people in this area."
"Up to 98 percent of the people involved are daily-wage miners. If illegal mining stops, these miners will be jobless," he said.
He said the region was infertile for farms and that traditional industries had dried up.
"In the interests of the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of poor families, we have to keep ignoring such accidents," he said.
In the last three months since the illegal mine disaster in Gangtikuli killed about 150 miners 13 accidents have taken place inside illegal coal mines in the coal fields of eastern India killing at least 80 miners.