The Bengal government has shifted around 500 residents of two villages — forest hamlets situated on the right bank of the Teesta river and around 25km from here — to a new location near Siliguri.
The decision to relocate the people of Laltong and Chamakdangi was made following the Teesta's acute erosion in the past couple of years.
Manisha Roy, a member of the Trinamool Congress-run Jalpaiguri zilla parishad (the villages are in Jalpaiguri district), said the villagers were relocated to Majhua, around 10km from Siliguri.
“All 132 families of both the villages have been shifted to Majhua, a forest village in Dabgram 1 panchayat of Rajganj block in Jalpaiguri district,” she said.
In recent years, this is the first time in Jalpaiguri district that villagers have been relocated because of river erosion.
Laltong and Chamakdangi are on the fringes of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. During the monsoon months, the villagers had to spend sleepless nights because of the floods and erosion caused by the Teesta that descends to the plains at Sevoke, which is near the villages.
The situation had worsened after the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) that had occurred in the river in October 2023, when it devastated many areas in the hills and flooded the downstream.
“We had appealed to the Jalpaiguri district administration and Gautam Deb, the mayor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), to take necessary initiative for our relocation. We are relieved that it has finally been done,” said Champey Mukhia, one of the villagers.
Sources said the mayor took the initiative and apprised chief minister Mamata Banerjee of the hardship of the villagers.
This made the chief minister instruct the Jalpaiguri zilla parishad and the district administration relocate the 500-odd residents of both the villages.
“We identified seven acres of land where the families have been relocated. The district administration has inspected the area, and geo-tagging has also been done. The process of providing land rights to each family is in progress,” added Roy, the zilla parishad member.
Abhiram Saibo, the deputy chief of Dabgram 1, who is monitoring the rehabilitation process, said each family would be provided with funds under the Bangla Awas Yojna for the construction of houses.
“The villagers are largely dependent on the poultry business and farming for their livelihood. Almost 70 per cent of them have shifted to Majhua and now stay in temporary shanties which they have built on their own. Soon, they will be provided with financial assistance for houses, with land rights,” Saibo said.
According to him, a few villagers are still staying in Lantong and Chamakdangi with their cattle and poultry. “They will shift soon,” he added.
Sources said the villagers also approached the state irrigation department through the mayor of the SMC.
“We have also appealed to the irrigation department through the mayor to build a 500-metre-long spur (a horizontal structure of stone that diverts the river from the banks) for the protection of Majhua, which is on the bank of the Mahananda river,” said a villager.
“We had to shift to Majhua because of the erosion and floods caused by the Teesta during monsoons. We don’t want to face a similar situation again,” he added.