Amphan Diaries, 30th May (Part II):

Cases of violence and crime have hit a new high post the cyclone period in Basanti, reports Amina Laskar, a grassroot social activist at BBSS.rn1) Cases of violence and crime have hit a new high post the cyclone period in Basanti, reports Amina Laskar, a grassroot social activist at BBSS. What is worse is that the police, who have already declined to register a complaint for rape, have started persuading the complainants to settle it in their own ways.rnrnHowever, victims who have reported sexual abuse post-Amphan haven’t yet given up hope but promises to turnaround and fight back once this time of crisis is over.rnrn2) Amina further reports that the panchayats are exercising preferential treatment when it comes to providing relief for the damage caused due to the cyclone. The members are preferring those people who join them in party meetings and rallies to get the relief first and thus they are preparing a list of these names and submitting it to the panchayat. Automatically, the people who aren’t in line with the members and their political affiliations, are falling out of favour and it is getting increasingly difficult for them to get the relief.rnrn3) The panchayat pradhan and BDO have been working untiringly, since the lockdown and have only increased their efforts post Amphan. Jinnatun Nahar, a social worker from SBMS states that they have always received a very positive response from these officers. u0022Basirhat II BDO ma’am Mrs Madhumita Sarkar has been very cooperative and helpful. She helped us get relief before and after the cyclone. Mr Jamaluddin Mallick, the pradhan of Bibipur-Begumpur Gram Panchayat has been equally helpful.u0022rnrn4) The panchayats are following different methods of collecting information about the people who are affected by the cyclone. In Bibipur-Begumpur, the panchayat has been asking the relief applicants to submit just their names. In Basirhat II, the members are visiting the houses of the affected people and checking the condition of their houses, besides collecting their documents. However, for applicants filing letters for relief, it is learnt that there will be a process of enquiry before relief is distributed. It is also reported that in Basirhat I, the people who had taken shelter in the flood centres have returned to their homes for rebuilding them.rnrn5) A field visit was conducted today by PAT, Sanjog board member Dora Chowdhury, Cognizant Arindam Das, Antara Biswas, and Utthan leaders where they visited TISM office and discussed the importance of the offices of the community-based organisations, why it is important to have an improved office setup, the process of field activities getting reported to the district offices and then to the state offices. These discussions were in light of the fact that the CBO offices have taken a hit during the cyclone with their computers, electronics and important documents being destroyed