BJP MLA Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to protect villages affected by river erosion in Malda and Murshidabad districts.
The legislator from the English Bazar constituency in Malda district wrote, “I am working for the welfare of border villages. My area is poverty-stricken and severely affected by erosion in the rivers Ganga and Mahananda. The population is vulnerable to oddities of demographic changes and recurrence of intermittent violence. People there are largely impoverished and need your intervention and support.”
Seeking an appointment with the PM on an “emergency basis”, Chowdhury said, “The issue has taken shape of enormous humanitarian crisis due to displacement, migration and unemployment. My area is the largest source of migrant labour, child labour and female bidi workers. The hardships faced by already deprived and disadvantaged minority population of my region due to (river) erosion is inexplicable.”
Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress state president Adhir Chowdhury had also written to the Prime Minister seeking help on the issue of erosion.
Adhir Chowdhury is MP from Berhampore in Murshidabad district. She added, “While the issue of erosion in the Ganga remains unaddressed, the issue of Mahananda is completely ignored by governments both at the Centre and the state. Ironically, both rivers are designated as National Waterways.”
Chowdhury further wrote, “It’s also important to bring your kind attention towards the fact that the Namami Gange and National Ganga Mission initiatives are a total failure in my region.”
The MLA said it was crucial to protect displaced citizens and contribute towards their rehabilitation for safeguarding them against migration and human trafficking.