Season of floods in Cooch Behar 

The rainy days are here again. And the frightful days of floods are also here again. And never say of river-erosion because it is now a round-the-year event in Cooch Behar district. The cruel rivers never consider the sorrow of the poor peasants who have to lose their cultivable lands and dwelling huts due to river-erosion. It is a habit for them to demand construction of embankments to save their lives and properties. They know that the embankments that come up after submitting heaps of memorandums and applications melt down in overflowed river water during heavy shower. And they get once again ready to demand repair of the damaged embankments or construction of new ones. There are faultfinders who say that some embankments never come up but the sanctioned money goes to the pockets of some contractors and their highly placed saviours in the concerned departments. There is a proverb in Bengali : ‘Kaaro Pous maas, karo sabonaash’. One can find suitable example of this age-old proverb in Cooch Behar district during the monsoon. Let it be a tourist attraction because the tourists probably get no chance anywhere like the handiwork of the profit earners who deals with lives of poor people! 

PHOTO : A familiar monsoon picture in Tufanganj of Cooch Behar.