'Stop river erosion'

Manas Banerjee

MALDA, May 5: Candidates for the upcoming panchayat polls campaigning door-to-door in Malda's Kaliachak-II block are being forced to declare in writing that they would initiate measures to arrest river erosion.A local citizens' forum called Ganga Bhangan Pritirodh Nagarik Action Committee (GBPNAC) has been organising the villagers of Panchanandapur, one of the worst erosion affected areas in Kaliachak-II block.A few days ago activists of West Bengal Education Network and the GBPNAC carried out a campaign in the villages of Kaliachak-II and Manikchak blocks and made villagers aware of their rights during a crisis situation like erosion. The forum has circulated printed formats of a declaration to the voters and suggested they ask candidates of all political parties to sign the declaration when they visit door-to-door to seek their votes. The voters are giving the printed declaration, carrying a 20-point charter of demands, to the candidates including employment guarantee scheme, health service, education, public distribution system, drinking water, and electricity. Villagers are asking the candidates if they are ready to fulfil the 20-point charter of demands after they win the election. If the candidates agree, they are being asked to put their signature on the declaration where all voting-age members of a family would also put signatures in another column as witnesses of the candidate's promise. This programme has evoked a good response among the villagers before the panchayat polls in this area and some candidates have agreed to sign the declaration to confirm votes in this panchayat poll. For example, Mr Kuddus Sheikh, a Congress candidate for gram panchayat at Jot-anantapur village in Bangitola gram panchayat in Kaliachak-II, has signed the declaration to ensure votes. Mrs Manoara Khan, Mr Lome Mian and Mrs Renu Bibi of different parties have signed the charter at Sadipur village in Bangitola gram panchayat. Two CPI-M candidates, Mr Abdur Sattar and Mr Saifuddin Sheikh and Mrs Nazema Bibi, a CPI (ML) Liberation candidate were forced to sign the charter when they went to Panchanandapur. “After the election, the declaration forms of the winning candidates collected by villagers will be preserved carefully to voice the villagers’ demand during the meeting of Gram Sansad," said Mr Tarikul Islam, a member of GBPNAC.