At least 63 migrant labourers from Khejuri in East Midnapore, who had been living in tarpaulin tents on the border of their village since last week, remained there without proper shelter on Tuesday, a day ahead of Cyclone Amphan’s landfall.
The labourers, who worked as masons in Chennai, hired two private buses for Rs 4 lakh to make the journey home starting last Wednesday and were allegedly stopped by villagers and panchayat officials from entering homes because of the coronavirus-related fears.
“We erected these tents ourselves after we were banned from entering Khejuri. We were treated like pests, and have been living in tents since then,” said labourer Sukhdev Pramanik.
“We are likely to suffer because of the cyclone. No one is helping us,” he added.
Labourers alleged that rainwater had already started seeping into their crowded dwellings. Several of them moved to the shelter of a nearby temple.
“When we got here last Thursday, our panchayat member told us we were not welcome in the village and that there was no quarantine facility,” labourer Johor Paria said.
“There is a canal right by our tent and it has already begun overflowing. So, we moved to the temple area.”
District disaster management officials on Tuesday said they would look into the labourers’ situation.
“It is a rule that before the cyclone, no one can remain in a temporary construction. We will look into the situation at Khejuri immediately,” said disaster management official Mrityunjay Haldar.
CPM district secretary Niranjan Sihi accused the Trinamul-run panchayat of ostracising the migrant workers as they were members of the Citu. “They have been barred entry to the village for political reasons,” Sihi said.
Asked, panchayat pradhan in Tikashi refuted the allegations and said the labourers had only been “advised” to stay at a distance. “We have not had any positive Covid-19 cases in our area. So, we are being very strict. But we did not enforce anything. We only asked the labourers to live at temporary shelters,” said pradhan Gourango Sahu.
“We have not been able to provide relief material because the block officials said they had no funds,” he added.
