Assam victims seek shelter in Jalpaiguri

Manas Bannerjee, SNS, Siliguri, 4 May : Following violence in Assam that claimed at least 32 lives, several people have started fleeing the affected areas, while some of them arrived in the Kumargram block in Jalpaiguri district today, looking for shelter.

According to sources at the administration, around 50 people have taken refuge in some of their relatives’ houses in Jalpaiguri.

They said the Jalpaiguri administration is making arrangements to provide all possible aid to the victims if they arrive in droves. The administration’s move follows chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s instructions.

In a Facebook post, Miss Banerjee condemned the Assam carnage and said: “We are worried as Assam is our border state. We have extended support and given shelter to the affected people in the past. On humanitarian grounds, our doors are open to the affected persons even now.”

“Around 40 to 50 people have arrived in Jalpaiguri to take shelter in their relatives’ houses in the Kumargram area,” inspector general of police, north Bengal, Jawed Shamim, said.

“Under the additional superintendent of police, police are keeping a tab on the overall situation along the Assam-Bengal border to extend all possible help to the victims when and as the situation demands,” Mr Shamim said.

He added that the police are on an ‘extra alert’ following the present situation in Assam. He, however, said the situation in the Bengal side is peaceful.

Jalpaiguri district magistrate Pritha Sarkar herself visited the Kumargram areas today. “A few family members have arrived in Kumargram to take shelter. At present they are in their relatives’ houses. I visited the Kumargram areas today and we have made all possible arrangements to extend support to the affected people,” Ms Sarkar said.

“There was not an exodus as such, as the Assam government has taken up initiatives to build confidence among the scared people in the trouble-torn areas. However, we have alerted the block development officers concerned to keep the arrangements ready,” she said.

Hundreds of people arrived in Jalpaiguri from Assam in 2012 following ethnic violence in lower Assam, while the Jalpaiguri administration had set up relief camps for them.

A relief camp in Alipurduar catered to hundreds of minority people who came from trouble-torn areas in lower Assam. The Assam government took them back after a few months.