Buddha faces wave of anger over Aila

But the crowd,battered by the cyclone and total lack of any relief and rehabilitation measures,was in no mood to hear him. A bare-bodied,lungi-clad villager shouted from the crowd: “Down with your official accounts. We know what those are made of…all lies.”

Mrinal Kanti Modal,another teacher,backed him: “Just go and look at the embankments on the other side of the border in Bangladesh. They drive cars on the embankments. We can’t even ride cycles on this side. It is a shame. Every year crores of rupees are spent and everyone knows where the funds go… the Irrigation Department does not even have an office here. Sahebs (officers) come here occasionally and vanish like the embankments with every high tide.”

There were also grumblings over the money given for building houses. “You give us only Rs 6,000 for building houses. Tell us,do such houses withstand a year’s cyclone or heavy rains?” asked Biplab Koyal,another villager.

There was an early indication of the shape of things to come. Even before the Chief Minister arrived,a group of about 200 people pounced on local CPI(M) MLA Gopal Gayen who arrived on a motorcycle. This was his first visit to the area,nine days after the cyclone hit Bengal.

“You have come to show your face to the Chief Minister,” someone from the crowd shouted. For half-an-hour,the MLA had a difficult time facing the crowd who asked him to put his own shoes around his neck. The MLA picked up the shoes and the crowd then put mud on his face. Someone picked up a piece of wood and was about to hit him when the police intervened and asked Gayen to leave the place immediately. Gayen left,mud all over his face and shoe in hand.

“Our problem is that every year there are breaches in embankments after a cyclone,and the breaches are repaired temporarily. Next year,the breaches return again. The Government is not serious about saving our lives.” Brindavan Gayen,a villager told The Indian Express.

Later during a press conference at Taki,also in North 24 Parganas district,the Chief Minister said he had requested for more money from the Central Government. “I have spoken to Home Minister P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee. My Finance Minister is in Delhi to talk to Central ministers. We will tide over the problem,” he said.