NANDIGRAM
The hot, dusty streets of Nandigram are packed with electric rickshaws. It is a rare indicator of modernity in a town that lives in the past. It is from here, a four-hour drive from Kolkata, that Mamata Banerjee strengthened her fight against the decades-long left rule in West Bengal.
She had begun in Singur in Hooghly district, protesting the Tata Nano plant, and spread her movement to Nandigram, where former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had greenlit a chemical hub. There were reports of people being tortured for their land; on March 14, 2007, more than 3,000 policemen opened fire on protesters, killing 14. Banerjee, the face of the protest, gathered the people’s support and eventually fought her way to the chief minister’s chair.
She has stayed in power since 2011, but what of Nandigram?
“In the 15 years since she took over, it is not like Bengal’s industrialisation or economic growth has been remarkable,” says Zaad Mahmood, a political science professor at Presidency University. “Other states are doing much better and Banerjee has declared that her government would not acquire land for industrialisation.”
Mahmood believes the town has remained backward in its socio-economic development. “Nandigram only comes to light during elections,” he says. “Last time, it was Mamata versus Suvendu Adhikari; this time they are in Bhabanipur and the focus is there now. Political attention for a certain period does not mean continuous importance or development. This could be a superficial, temporary phenomenon.”
Residents THE WEEK spoke to say roads and electricity supply have improved in the past five years with Adhikari as MLA. However, they add that this is not enough to sustain a livelihood. Nandigram bazaar, the lone market, is lined with shops selling clothes and basic commodities; across the street are fruit and vegetable stalls. “There is no education or jobs,” says shopkeeper Mir Mehboob Ali. “There is inflation looming. Industry should have come here earlier.”
Sheikh Anwar, a rickshaw driver at the market, agrees. He has a family of seven to feed, and wants jobs for his and future generations. He is unhappy that people have to move to Kolkata, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala to find work. “We don’t need to keep one government for so long,” he says. “If a new government comes to power, we will get jobs. We will be secure.” He adds that Adhikari wants to work for the welfare of the people, but the state government was not allowing him to do so.
Babu Lal, another rickshaw driver who once had a tailor shop, says, “There are eight people in our house; we want employment. We have to earn and so I drive a rickshaw. Peace has not returned to Nandigram, there is fighting.” Unlike Anwar, he is critical of Adhikari. “He should be looking after us and serving the public,” he says. “Instead, he is always dividing Hindus and Muslims. We don’t want that. We want someone who works for us. We want Didi again.”
Papu Biswas Raut, a two-time gram panchayat member, says the Trinamool had worked to improve Nandigram, but the BJP should be given a longer chance. One of the issues she has is the lack of safety for women, which forced her to send her daughters to Kolkata to study. “We got the CPI(M), the Trinamool and the BJP. When they don’t work, we can remove them. We just want to live in peace,” she says.
Her husband, Anupam Raut, is all praise for Adhikari. “He is with the people during good and bad times and we get everything immediately,” he says. “If anyone is unwell, he makes arrangements to take them to hospital.”
The health care system itself is disappointing, says Manas Kumar Maity, a resident. “There are no doctors in the government hospital, everyone is opening private clinics,” he says. “They are not attending to patients properly and are referring them to other places. The management in the hospital is corrupt. There should be no middlemen in government hospitals.”
On another important front—education—the youth of Nandigram seem to have limited options. Those who can afford private institutions have some hope, say the townsfolk. “Schools and colleges are in bad shape; there are holidays half the time and no proper classes take place,” says first-time voter Sayan Maity. “I want hardworking people to get jobs, whichever government comes to power.”
Another first-time voter, Sayan Jana, had to go to Kolkata to do his BCA. “Both (Trinamool and BJP) are saying they have monetary welfare schemes. If everyone gives us doles, who will give us jobs?” he asks. “Doles do not help much. To recharge our phones we have to pay Rs300.”
Gopal Jana, 24, agrees that doles are not sustainable. “They say they will infuse money, but I don’t see money as a solution,” says Jana, who has a data-entry job. “Rs1,500 is nothing. If the money spent for monetary welfare schemes are used for overall development, it will be beneficial.”
Some others like Mampi Begum, a geography graduate, are making the most of the situation. She has availed of the state government’s Kanyashree scheme for female students and says she will avail of the Yuva Sathi scheme for unemployed youth. Her mother, a single parent, says she wants her to get a job soon.
The 100-day job guarantee scheme, too, has not been ideal. “We want change,” says wage-worker Kalipada Das. “I have taken on work but have got only half the payment; middlemen took away the money.”
Come May 5, a day after the results, Nandigram will retreat from public discourse once again, only to pop up the next time elections come calling. All the people here can do is vote, and hope that whoever wins treats their home better than a pit-stop on the campaign trail.