In Shamsherganj, the homeless return to ash, tears and rubble
Times of India | 17 April 2025
12 Shamsherganj: With Murshidabad lurching back to a tense normalcy, families are returning home to trouble-torn Shamsherganj. However, even in their return, they stare at a bleak future with all their possessions reduced to ash, their houses reduced to rubble in last week's violence.
Unlike many of his neighbours, 44-year-old Tarak Ghosh had not fled to neighbouring Malda. Instead, he and his wife Dipali had taken refuge at their relative's house in Suti, with their four children. The couple returned to their house in Bethbona village on Tuesday, without their kids, mainly to see how the situation was. However, not much of their house stands now. "Everything we had has been burnt. We are staying elsewhere tonight," Tarak said.
Since Monday, 31 of the 100-odd families who had left the village, have returned to Bethbona. Even a few days back, 180 families used to call the village their home. Of these, the houses of 120 families have been damaged. Authorities are now supplying them cooked food, rice, cooking oil, stove and kerosene, and clothes.
Septuagenarian Panchanan Mondal said: "We have been getting our meals for the past two days. But I am not sure how long this will continue... I do not know what to do after that." His daughter-in-law Lipika sought a BSF camp in the village. "The trauma will never leave us," she said.
The situation was no different in Jafrabad, which saw murders on April 12. Dukori Das — a worker at a local potato chips manufacturing unit — and his wife Tumpa — a bidi worker — had been saving up for their daughter Payal's wedding in Nov. "We had around Rs 1.5 lakh in cash at home, and some ornaments. Everything has been reduced to ash," said Dukori. Jafrabad families are going to the local primary school for their ration.
According to official estimates, nearly 150 families have returned home. In Sutor More on NH 12, a bank opened on Wednesday. Some shops have also opened but only a few people could be seen on the streets. Prohibitory orders still remain in place, with police and CAPF joint units conducting route marches in the area.
Kids hurt in blast: Two children were injured in a blast in Sahebnagar, adjacent to Shamsherganj PS on Wednesday, when they were playing with crude bombs lying near a playground. The children were taken to the Jangipur sub-divisional hospital. In another incident, a fire was reported in a grocery shop in Dhuliyan. The shop belonged to the municipality vice-chairperson's kin. Police said the fire started from a short circuit. TNN