17th
November, 2015
KOLKATA: STATEWIDE
Jathas by Bengal Platform of Mass Organisations have elicited tremendous
response in West Bengal. Tens of thousands of people have participated in the
local level jathas in all districts of the state, making it already the biggest
campaign programme by Left mass organisations in the last four and half years
in the state. In fact, the reach and simultaneous nature of the programme has
marked it as one of the largest campaign movement of all time in West Bengal.
BPMO, a
platform of more than 100 mass organisations, has declared that the jathas
would try to reach almost all booth areas of the state. Apart from centrally
decided 15 point charter of demands, local level demands and burning issues of
the people have been raised by jathas.
On November
14, a public meeting in Jadavpur marked the beginning of the statewide
programme. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee flagged off the jatha in Kolkata. CITU state
president Shyamal Chakraborty and leaders of various mass organisations were
present in the well attended meeting.
Jathas have
travelled in remote corners of the state, braving terror and attacks. Jathas
have been organised in Nandigram, for example, an area virtually prohibited for
the Left for many years now. Many jathas have marched through Jangal Mahal
areas of West Midnapore. In some places, these processions have entered in
villages after four years or more. In Toofanganj in Coochbehar, the blockade of
terror was broken as hundreds of people welcomed the participants. Partially
this could be done in areas like Khanakul in Hooghly where hundreds of Left
supporters were forced to leave their residences under the TMC regime.
Jathas were
attacked by the TMC armed gangs in Burdwan, Hooghly, West Midnapore, Birbhum
and Howrah. In some areas, TMC miscreants attacked the procession or cordoned
off the villages. In some other places, the villagers faced their wrath for
having welcomed the jathas. However, there were various examples of resistance
too. In Galsi and Bhatar of Burdwan, the villagers chased away the bike-borne
attackers who were forced to flee.
In North
Bengal, the distress and starvation deaths of the tea garden workers have been
prominently raised. In many tea gardens in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and
Darjeeling, workers participated in the jathas. The deteriorating condition of
the peasantry and declining prices of their produces were highlighted too.
In Bankura,
Birbhum and Purulia, one of the major problems is acute loss of jobs in rural
areas, forcing thousands to migrate to other states for work. The rural
development activities have stopped under the TMC regime. The loss of crop this
year has accentuated the problem. It was reflected in the villagers’ mood when
the jathas entered their localities.
In Burdwan,
the peasantry has suffered due to lack of irrigation this year. Due to the
callousness of the state administration, they did not get adequate water during
the peak cultivation period. There are regular reports of farmers’ suicides
from the grain store of Bengal. The anger of the peasantry was reflected when
they joined in large numbers in the jathas.
The people of
Hooghly are still bearing the wound left by the deserted automobile project.
The incumbent government had assured them about undoing the damage. But nothing
has yielded in the last four years. Consequently, the anger of the people has
gushed out through the rallies which have been conducted in Hoogly district.
People who stood against the earlier Left Front government, with a big hope for
a positive change, now joined the rally to vent out their grievances against
the TMC government. Farmers are not getting the value for their crops, the
automobile industry of Hind Motors is counting its days, all the jute mills of
Serampore area are on the verge of extinction. The demand for rejuvenation of
industries has been focused in jathas.
Once upon a
time, as many as five lakh women organised themselves and formed self help
groups in the state. But now all their efforts seem to have been wasted. TMC
government has abandoned its responsibilities towards them. In many districts,
including Murshidabad and Nadia, the frustrated members of these groups have
joined the jathas.
One of the
features of these jathas is the massive participation of tribals in many
districts. They have come wearing their traditional attires and with musical
instruments, turning jathas more colourful.
In many
areas, the participants and volunteers in the jathas have spent the night in
villages, interacting with people. In most cases, the jathas have taken lunch
in villages, prepared by the villagers.
The intensive
and widespread programme has helped to regain trust and has strengthened bonds
in many areas. The details of peoples’ everyday lives and their actual
sufferings have come to fore.
The jathas
will continue till November 22 in general but for specific areas they will
continue for a week more.
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