BJP demands inclusion of poor people in BPL list 

COOCH BEHAR, July 5: A fact finding team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by its Cooch Behar district general secretary Mr Nityananda Munsi today visited the Dakshin Dawaguri village where an alleged “starvation death” occurred on Saturday. The village is situated at a distance of about 15-kilometre from Cooch Behar district headquarters.  

It was learnt that one 70-year-old man Machhir Mian died of malnutrition on Saturday. His wife is too counting her days. A number of families of Dakshin Dawaguri village are suffering from problems because they have no jobs and they are not included in the BPL list. Normally, these people earn their living by working as land labourers. But, the cultivable lands of the village are under water following heavy rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon. The monsoon turned them jobless and gifted them almost starving days. Like other villagers Machhir Mian and his wife, Abiya Bibi were depending on seeds of jackfruit to survive, locals alleged.  

The death of an elderly person from malnutrition had sent shock waves to all concerned. State forest minister Mr Ananta Roy, Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad sabhadhipati Mr Jnanendra Chandra Chanda, district magistrate Dr Ravi Inder Singh and others came forward to know the actual situation of the village. Some relief materials also distributed to the distressed villagers on Sunday.  

After visiting the condition of the village, general secretary of Cooch Behar district BJP, Mr Nityananda Munsi said today that the deceased Machhir Mian was suffering from various ailments. But as his name was not included in the BPL list, he failed to avail the medical facilities that were provided to BPL cardholders at the government hospitals. A jobless poor old man like Machhir Mian was left with no choice to survive with food or medical aid. And so he had to die, Mr Munsi alleged.  

Mr Munsi said that they would submit a detailed report over the situation of Dakshin Dawaguri village to the party’s state leadership. They will also submit memorandums to the concerned authorities including district magistrate demanding inclusion of all poor men of the village in the BPL list to stop more such deaths. Mr Munsi opined that not only inclusion in BPL list will work but also permanent measures should be taken to resist river erosion and floods to save agricultural land and the people dependent on it.  

On the otherhand, president of District Trinamul Congress Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh said that they are also preparing for a movement to get corrected BPL lists instead of the existing erroneous ones.