People's Democracy

MORE than 20,000 people have been affected due to heavy waterfall in Bhavnagar city and district in Gujarat. The state unit of the CPI(M) has demanded immediate relief from the state government.

After visiting the affected areas on June 28, immediately after the rainfall, CPI(M) state secretary Arun Mehta said in a press release that because of continuous rainfall in the preceding two days, water had submerged the whole of Bhavnagar district, with Bhavnagar city, Kalubhar and Bortalav being the worst affected. The Kansara river was overflowing and water had entered all the low-lying areas. As a result, people living in all slums and many buildings in the low-lying areas of Kumbharwada, Karchaliapara, Subhash Nagar, Mafat Nagar, Azadnagar and Bajrang Nagar had to be shifted so as to save their lives. More than 10,000 people in Bhavnagar city alone were shifted to camps in the subsequent three days. Here, more than 1,000 small huts and houses were severely affected and people rendered homeless.

Many CPI(M) leaders including Arun Mehta, Bhupat Mer, Naliniben Jadeja, Iva Mehta, Manekben Makwana and Hardevsinh Gohil, DYFI’s Ashok Sompura, Miti Desai, Harun Khan Pathan and Ibrahim Khan Pathan, and SFI’s Naresh Gohil, etc, visited all these areas and consoled the people. They also helped the affected people in these areas in different ways. More than 300 members of the CPI(M), DYFI, SFI, Bhavnagar Mahila Sangh and Janvadi Mahila Sangh extended immediate help to the affected people.

Now team of the AIDWA and DYFI are working at Kubharwada and Subhash Nagar camps in municipal schools. A DYFI team is working in the Mandar Society School camp as well. The AIDWA and Bhavnagar Mahila Sangh have started a medical help centre at Kubharvada and collected medicines from the local medical stores. CPI(M) branches have started collecting food for the affected people on a daily basis.

The state government did not render any help to the affected people, nor announced cash compensations for days together. CPI(M) state secretary Arun Mehta strongly criticised this attitude of the state BJP government.

While hundreds of families are facing food shortage, the administration has failed to rush relief to the flood victims. A survey of the damages suffered by the affected people has also to immediately started and cash compensation provided accordingly.

The CPI(M) leader asked the chief minister to send immediate relief of all kinds to Bhavnagar district and also to other parts of the state where damages have occurred due to heavy rainfall.