THREAD: GROUND REPORT FROM NORTH 24 PARGANAS:

This is Kalpana Bhunia. Her son is three years old. She lives in the Atpukur village of Minakhan. During #CycloneAmphan her husband died as asbestos sliced through his neck. Full report here: @TheQuint
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/cyclone-amphan-west-bengal-north-24-parganas-village-fisherfolk-have-lost-everything

Kalpana's son is yet to realise that his father is dead. "I want to go on a boat ride with him", he keeps saying and hugs Kalpana everytime she cries.

In contrast, Purnima Mondol, doesn't betray as much grief. She is the wife of 60-year-old Kartik Mondol, who was hit by flying pieces from a tin roof on the day of #AmphanSuperCyclone. His chest and stomach were injured. After a day in a PHC, he got a stroke.

Essentially a fishing village, all the fishery ponds have flooded in Atpukur as the mud embankments have come apart. When we visited, the villagers were working overtime to repair them. The crop land (drained ponds) have been contaminated with salty water.

"We have been set back by 25 years", says fisherman Dinesh Das, who had a 40 bigha pond. "There's no fish in the pond now. Just water", he says.

Many fisherfolk in the village go to Kolkata and other cities to work as casual labour during the off-season. With the lockdown that has also stopped and the fish business is gone as well, says Kishan Bihari Manjhi.

Finally, all the villagers say that they have never been this scared in a long time. Not during Aila. Not during Bulbul. Electricity remains cut off. All the dams in the village are yet to be repaired. Problems of water and food also continue.

#AmphanAftermath #amphanupdates