Lives Paralysed and Broken, Homeless Families Struggle To Restart From What The Bengal Tornado Has Left Behind

Dilip Adhikari, 48, was struggling to tie the black tarpaulin by the freshly inserted bamboo poles on the ground where the remains of the deadly tornado of last Sunday were still scattered. He is one of the many victims from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal whose house was ravaged by the powerful tornado in a matter of few seconds. Haldar was struggling more because of his physical condition, a critical ailment had led to the amputation of four fingers of his left hand and half of his both feet. But he is alone with his challenge to rebuild the house while he isn’t alone in sharing such a fate, his entire village is devastated with not a single house standing anymore. All were busy fixing their lives, none could spare time to become a Good Samaritan to Adhikari.

“I have been living this life like a disabled for the past twenty years but this tornado has paralysed the lives of the entire family. How can I complain when I see the same struggle by everyone around me? We all are disabled now. Government has said they will make our houses but how long will it take we don’t know. There are elections ahead. I just hope we get a place to stay before the elections”, said Adhikari, a father of two children. Both the daughters have lost their books, the elder one recently had her board exams.

The administration of the Bengal government was busy inspecting the affected areas, make data and then start the rebuilding work. “We are instructed to do the work expeditiously and hoping the house rebuilding work will start soon but there’s no miracle that will build so many houses in one night. People are suffering and we understand their frustration and agony. We can only be patient at this hour of crisis”, said a state government official without willing to be named. He has covered four villages by noon and will submit the report to the District Magistrate’s office by Saturday.

A group of people came down to the village carrying cooked food for the victims on a rickshaw van and everyone rushed there with small containers to collect food. Most of the utensils and kitchen materials are gone with the tornado. Two young men came down with two bags full of used clothes they have collected for charity. The little children, leaving their food, then rushed towards the bag and pick whatever they thought would fit them. One young girl started sobbing after she had laid her hands on a used saree with glittering sequence work all over, similar to a ’Banarasi saree’. She was the only one sad amidst a cheering young euphoric children who have lost all their clothes and now found something to wear, even though they could be torn, old and used clothes.

“I was about to get married in May this year. I had gone to Jalpaiguri town and picked up my marriage ‘Banarasi saree’. There’s nothing left in our house, the money we had saved for the wedding and the ‘Banarasi saree’, both are gone. We are poor people, we don’t dare to dream big often and life has snatched away by first opportunity to the big day. My father says he will beg and get me another saree but I don’t want to leave by family behind, specially when the house is broken much like our lives”, said Shilpi Roy, 20.

The sky was overcast and people feared it may pour again. Dilip Adhakri’s wife lends her hand to him in fixing the tarpaulin. “Please help us get a proper shelter. People are coming and making videos, including you all but who will give us a home, that no one is saying. Where do I go with our children? We don’t want free food, ration or cooked food and even anyone’s charity. We simply want our old life back. When the house collapsed, I along with my daughters were stuck inside. I thought it will over for us. I prayed to God, take my life but save my children and make sure my husband comes back home to find the children”, said Mayna Adhikari who was inconsolable.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured help to everyone, she has even confirmed that administration will be working without disrupting the existing election model code of conduct, since it was a natural disaster. But hundreds of people, now homeless are fearing that the elections would come in the way of their rehabilitation and that restarting their scattered lives would take longer. A young child came to us howling and asked “have you seen my mother?”. He didn’t wait and went ahead enquiring from others. As we were leaving, we learned the mother of the child was admitted to the hospital and the child didn’t know about it as he was sheltered at his relative’s house since the tornado. Upon returning home, he realised that their house was gone and he was desperate to find his mother back.