Around 3,000-odd residents face the problem of living in close proximity to Katwa town in Burdwan but voting in away Krishnagar in Nadia. It is an anomaly the island residents face for over a few decades and are desperate to get it corrected this time.
The administrative offices governing Nayachar, known as Bengal’s dolphin hub on river Bhagirathi since the British era, is at Krishnagar that’s 54-km away from the riverbed, whereas Katwa town is barely 13 km from the place. It falls under the Krishnagar Lok Sabha and Kaliganj Assembly constituency of Nadia.
The 2011 census recorded its population as 1,673, which, due to influx of the Bangladesh emigrants, has increased to 2,786 now. The number of registered voters has been recorded at 1,398, now.
Mahua Moitra, the Trinamul Congress candidate from Krishnagar, visited Nayachar and campaigned on electric rickshaw yesterday while she faced the people’s anguish over the crisis. She said, “Distance of course matters, still it’s not a big issue as the state government has extended every possible facility to the island. My native place is at Karimpur, about 100 km from Krishnagar town.”
The BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of Krishnagar. She, as the BJP said, “Doesn’t have an immediate plan to visit Nayachar.”
The geographical settlement falls under the administrative command of Nadia, but its odd residents have raised their voice for their immediate inclusion with East Burdwan where they toil, earn, shop and go for studies over the decades for easy conveyance. It’s barely 13 km from Katwa town and the elevated region, caused by sand and gravel sedimentation deposited by the slower Bhagirathi flow, is located between Katwa and Dainhat municipal towns. The island covers an area of 254.95 hectares and is divided into four prominent localities, Baulpara, Gobindapur, Noachar and Chowdhurypara. The residents mostly are fishermen, farmers or serve as wage labourers in Katwa.
The significant Nayachar curve of the river meanwhile shelters the most endangered variety of Gangetic dolphins, which has shown an improving population due to limited commercial fishing activities. The stretch remains free from polluted urban waste. Ganesh Chowdhury, a dolphin rescuer of Nayachar has been honoured by the international dolphin preservation forums. He said, “For the aquatic animals, district boundaries don’t matter, but for us it’s quite hard to travel to Krishnagar even for some minimal office work.”
Locals like Ashoke Bhakta, Biswajit Sarkar narrated their pain, “We live in Burdwan part of the Bhagirathi riverbank, but we are unknown to the locals over the decades.” Adesh Sarkar, the elected panchayat member of the local Gobra panchayat, under Kaliganj Assembly constituency said, “Political parties should come forward to resolve this perennial problem, but they’ve shown very little interest regarding this.”
Sonaichandipur, yet another island on the Damodar and part of Durgapur town too faces a similar problem as those from Nayachar. They however vote for Bankura Lok Sabha constituency and its administrative control is in Bankura, about 47 km away.
The place is inhabited by 36 emigrant families from Bangladesh. They earn livelihood by fishing and cultivation. Sufal Biswas, Dulal Mahali, unfortunate residents, said, “We are left to suffer here as we haven’t been provided with electricity, drinking water, over the decades. The MP elected from the seat and sitting in Bankura don’t bother to pay any heed to our crisis. We live a marooned life, practically.” They said, “We’ve demanded inclusion with Durgapur town as we simply live here only.” Two-time MP from the seat and the BJP candidate for the seat, Dr Subhash Sarkar, said, “I’ve come to know about their plight very recently. I was about to move the matter but the election was declared by the time.”