Rampura (Sabong), July 6: Residents of an obscure West Midnapore village do something every year that the government should: prepare for floods in advance.

Rampura village is flooded by the Keleghai river every monsoon, often several times in a year.

Drained of funds and energy at having to rebuild their mudhouses every time they get washed away, the villagers don’t build them now.

They make tin-roof houses with walls of bamboo bark.

During winter, they wrap the walls with tarpaulin sheets to keep the wind away.

The materials survive the floods. Even if the houses are damaged, they can be rebuilt with the same materials.

Building a tin-roof house is cheaper, too. It costs between Rs 12,000 and Rs 25,000, half the amount it takes to build a proper mud-walled house.

This year, the deluge came early, in June, within eight days of the onset of monsoon.

But at the first hint of the impending floods, around 750 men, women and children shifted to the high ground along the nearest metalled road days before the administration moved.

They set up makeshift shelters with tarpaulin that they had kept ready.

The roadside could be their address till September, but rations are unlikely to be a worry because the villagers stock foodgrain through the year and move them to higher ground before the damp gets them.

“This is our routine every year,” said Pintu Samanta, 45.

Being closest to the river, Rampura is the first village to be submerged.

“The irrigation department builds an earthen embankment, which is no good against the river. When it rains heavily for a day, we know it is time to move. Before the water moves in, we are out of the village with food and other essentials,” said Pintu.

Last year, the village was flooded four times.

Such is the fury of the Keleghai that a 2,000kg Toyota Innova was washed away from a flooded highway last month with three men.

This year, it started raining from June 16 night. By June 17 afternoon, the Rampura villagers had started moving.

Additional district magistrate (development) Ramkrishna Das admitted that the administration was not prepared for the floods this year. “It came very early and we were caught by surprise. We are usually prepared in July.”

Sharmistha Samanta, who had got married in Rampura a decade ago, has been cursing her fate since. “I did not know then that I would have to spend three months every year on the roadside,” she said.

The young mother is already worried about her eight-year-old daughter Ruma. “Who will want to marry my daughter if he learns that she is homeless for three months every year?” asked Sharmistha, 30.

Bijoy Jana, almost 50, has got used to it.

“Almost all of us are farmers and we earn enough for a decent living. But we are forced to become refugees for three months,” said Bijoy, who owns around 2.5 acres.

“I sometimes feel ashamed that I can’t build a proper house, though I can afford it. But we have got to be realistic,” he added.

Trying to explain why the Keleghai spills its banks so frequently, an irrigation official said: “The river has silted and become shallow over the years. Therefore, it overflows if there is prolonged rain.”

The official also accused the villagers of damaging the embankment and making the floods more frequent. “They dig holes in it and set up stakes to tie their cattle, and erect structures to keep a watch on the grazing cows and goats or just to enjoy the breeze,” he said.




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