‘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.