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On 15th June 2009, a team from the Bengal Chamber
visited the cyclone battered villages of West Bengal and
in particular those villages in remote and inaccessible
places, where relief had not reached the population. The
team distributed buckets with clothing, food and water
to 800 individuals in the villages of Lahiripur, Char
Gheri and Kalidaspur of the Sunderban area of District
South 24 Parganas.
The cost of all items of relief distributed by Chamber
officers and staff were funded by the Chamber members,
led by the Committee and Chairpersons of various
Sub-Committees. We have also received contributions from
individuals and even non-member organizations. Earlier,
at a meeting of the Chamber Committee on 9th June,
members were unanimous in their decision that the Bengal
Chamber of Commerce and Industry must reach out to the
villagers rendered homeless by Cyclone 'Aila' and
provide some help to them in form of distributing
essential articles immediately required by them.
The Chamber team was shocked to view firsthand the
extent of the devastation caused by the recent cyclone
and the poverty, which has engulfed the people of the
region. The villagers had lost their homes, their land
(which would not be cultivable for another two years at
least), their cattle and, in some cases, their families.
Yet, the will to fight back against nature was the only
force, which was carrying them forward. All the villages
that the Chamber team visited had only temporary mud
embankments and in some cases, not even the launch
carrying relief material could dock next to the shore,
but had to drop anchor mid-river.
We are indebted to the contributing organizations and
their management team and other staff members for
contributing to this cause and making this possible. It
was entirely due to their efforts that the relief
material could be arranged for. The Chamber has, in its
156-year history always come forward during times of
crisis induced by natural calamities and immersed itself
in relief work. We were no different this time.
We are also grateful to the West Bengal Police for their
constant guidance and support to us in this endeavour
and for providing us with logistics support during our
journey to and from the villages. The fact that the
Chamber team could reach the remote and inaccesible
cyclone battered villages, where relief was really
required, would not have been possible without the
support and assistance from the West Bengal Police.
The Chamber would like to take this opportunity to thank
all organizations and individuals for coming forward and
contributing to this cause. We are grateful to each
organization and individual for being with us in this
endeavour of ours and making the relief distribution a
reality.
We are grateful to Shri Somen Mitra, IPS, Deputy
Inspector General of Police, Presidency Range, and Shri
A.M.Ranade, IPS, Supdt. Of Police, South 24 Parganas for
their invaluable advice and support. Our grateful thanks
are due to Ms Nupur Prasad, IPS, Asst. Supdt. Of Police
and Ms. Anuradha Mandal, Deputy Supdt. Of Police, Shri
Partha Mandal, Officer in Charge Basanti Police Station,
Shri Chandrasekhar Das, Officer in Charge Gosaba Police
Station for their invaluable help provided to the
Chamber team in reaching the relief items to the needy
villagers. Lastly, our grateful thanks to Shri Anil
Mistry of Village Balli, South 24 Parganas in reaching
and distributing relief in the needy cyclone battered
villages, where relief was really required.
The Chamber has also decided to provide some permanent
infrastructural facilities for the villages battered by
the Cyclone ‘Aila” in remote and inaccessible places,
where such facilities are urgently required. Since
drinking water is a great problem in the cyclone
affected villages because of inundation by saline water,
the President, Bengal Chamber of Commerce has approved a
grant of Rupees Six Lakhs and Thirty Three Thousand (Rs.
6,33,000/-) to the Ramkrishna Mission, for sinking of
deep tube wells in some of the remote and inaccessible
villages of West Bengal, where there is a problem of
availability of drinking water.
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