Bengal Panchayat Polls: Minority-Dominated Makrampur Hoping for Regime Change

Makrampur (WB): About 23 kilometres from Kolkata and 2 kilometres from Tematha of Sonarpur, lies Makrampur in South 24 Parganas district. There are 1,076 houses here with people still awaiting some government intervention to lift them out of poverty. 

Hafazan Bibi, 65, says she lives in perennial tension as her makeshift shanty may give way any day.

A widow, her only income is the old age pension of Rs 1,000. Her home consists of pieces of tarpaulin and HDPE plastic sheets laid one over the other.

"During the rainy season, I have to live here, praying to Allah to protect me from all calamities. I cannot repair my makeshift home with such meagre resources," she told NewsClick.

She said the local panchayet leaders only come during elections and make promises, do nothing and get rich every year while the villagers languish in poverty. 

Hafazan Bibi has applied for a house under the central Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) but is not considered a ‘fit’ case by the panchayat authorities to be eligible for a house. 

The 2018 panchayat elections in Makrampur were farcical, say some local residents, recalling that on the counting day, the counting centres were forcibly taken over by ruling party (Trinamool Congress) ‘hooligans’. 

They claimed that Jakir Gazi, the present TMC candidate in Makrampur, had earlier said that poor people were a burden on the exchequer and their expectations “cannot be met”. After Gazi was given the ticket this year’s election, people have been reminding him of his earlier comments. 

Hafazan Bibi has been partially lucky to avail old age pension. However, Sayeeda Sardar and Masooda Bibi are not so lucky, as their names were struck away from the state’s Laxmi Bhandar scheme. 

To avail of widow pensions, they were supposed to provide death certificates of their husbands. However, in many cases, the husbands died decades ago. Thus, the claimants do not have any certificates in hand.

Sakila Bibi told NewsClick that she visited the BDO (Block Development Officer) to apply for a house under IAY. But, despite the BDO's call to the local panchayat office, she did not get the desired amount under the scheme. 

The same thing happened with Hanif Sheikh. He alleged that the current panchayat pradhan, Tapasi Mondal, was a “thief”, accusing her for allegedly usurping money allotted under the scheme. 

Leave alone homes, Jahanara Bibi Sardar, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) at the Sangur subcentre of Pratap Nagar GP, told NewsClick that people of Makrampur do not even have safe drinking water. 

Paritosh Mandal, zila parishad candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), alleged that of the three gram panchayats in the region, the Pratap Nagar gram panchayat has been a “den of corrupt practices” under the present TMC regime. 

"We will ensure this time that votes are not looted during elections. However, if the last year's case repeats during counting, they (TMC) will face a stiff challenge," Mandal said. 

Samad Sardar, another CPI(M) panchayat candidate from Makrampur, was also hopeful of his chances against Gazi. 

CPI(M) campaigning in Makrampur for the panchayat elections.

"There are no roads in the area. The need for safe drinking water is also there. We will stand with the people for our rights," he said.

Sardar said that the list of those eligible under any scheme should be transparent, adding that he would try to give feedback to the villagers so they can rightfully apply under the housing scheme.  

Arindam Mukherjee, a CPI(M) district secretariat member, told NewsClick that anger was brewing in the three areas under the Sonarpur 78 seat. 

"People are determined to change things in this election. In fact, TMC fears a people's deluge against them," he said.

When NewsClick visited Makrampur on the day of Bakrid, the desolate faces of low-income families struck a chord despite all the festivities around. 

Left in the lurch by TMC, these families are hoping for a regime change. 

"We have been living like this since cyclone Amphan when our homes were washed away," a resident told NewsClick.