Survey on number of Nandigram burnt houses

Rajib Chatterjee
NANDIGRAM, Nov. 18: Suspecting villagers of lodging false complaints of their houses being torched during violence at Nandigram, the block administration has initiated a survey to find the exact number of houses destroyed before adequate compensation is paid to the victims.
According to reports, a large number of residents in Nandigram complained to the local police and civil administration that their houses had been looted and later set on fire. Most of those complaints came from Sonachura, Daudpur, Gokulnagar, Samsabad, Kendamari, Jalpai and some other villages in Nandigram I and Nandigram II blocks which witnessed flare ups over the past few months.
Mr Ashok Kumar Sarkar, block development officer, Nandigram I block, said, teams had been set up to conduct a survey to identify the houses which were burnt. Mr Ramprasad Ghorui, a senior official of the block, said that members of the team would check the authenticity of the complaints of those who claimed themselves to be the victims of Nandigram violence.
“Each survey team has at least six members who have started visiting the trouble-torn areas. The members will speak to the relatives of the complainants to find the veracity of their complaint,” said Mr Ghorui. According to him, the state government has instructed the local administration to identify houses which were looted and damaged during violence in Nandigram since 14 January. Leaders of the survey teams have been asked to submit their reports to the block administration as soon as possible. The survey began on 14 November, said the official.
It can be recalled that chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has announced a Rs 1 crore compensation package for those whose houses were damaged during violence.
According to a senior district police officer, a total of 210 complaints of arson were reported from trouble-torn villages in Nandigram till 15 November. The number of complaints of houses being set on fire is going up after the chief minister announced the compensation package, said the officer. He said that the survey was being conducted by civil administration because local residents had objected to a police enquiry.
However, supporters of Bhumi Ucched Protirodh Committee (BUPC) are crying foul over this survey. Sheikh Sufiyan, a senior BUPC member said: “The survey has been initiated at a time when most of their supporters were out of their houses. We suspect that giant share of the compensation that the chief minister has announced last week for the Nandigram violence will be taken away by the CPI-M cadres since only a few BUPC supporters were left in the villages.