Cyclone Amphan: Agitated locals in Hooghly district demand restoration of power, water supply

Demonstrations and roadblocks continued in several areas of Kolkata on Saturday as parts of the metropolis remained without water and power since cyclone Amphan ravaged the city.

Hooghly: A day after cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc over the city, life in Khanpur village of West Bengal's Hooghly district was thrown out of gear and locals woke up to scenes of destruction as several trees were uprooted, houses were damaged and electric polls collapsed disrupting power supply.

Residents of the village took to the streets on Saturday to protest against slow government response and demanded the restoration of water and power supply at the earliest. Aggrieved locals blocked NSC Bose road adversely affecting the movement of vehicles, especially those on emergency duty.

Demonstrations and roadblocks continued in several areas of Kolkata on Saturday as parts of the metropolis remained without water and power since cyclone Amphan ravaged the city.

From Behala in the south to Belgharia in the north, armed with placards, people blocked roads with empty buckets and utensils.

Protests were also reported from Sapuipara and Pallishree areas in Jadavpur, Garfa, besides Narkeldanga and Telangabagan.

The protesters, many of whom were women, said they are under extreme hardship as there was no electricity and water for the past three days and repeated calls to power utilities CESC and WBSEDCL went unanswered.

They said that due to the power cut they cannot pump water from the supply lines to the tanks of their respective houses, leading to a dire situation amid the rising mercury.

While some of the protesters blamed the lack of preparedness on the part of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) despite repeated warnings of the severity of the cyclone by the weather office, many pointed fingers at the response of the power utilities to the crisis.

"There has been no word from CESC on when the power will be restored. A tree, which fell on the transformer in our area, was not removed. The KMC staff said they don't have the tools, while CESC said they can start work only after the tree is removed. We are living in inhuman conditions," a middle-aged man from Jadavpur said.

Many others said they cannot continue with work from home due to the lack of power and internet connectivity.

"We are forced to buy mineral water cans at higher prices. Forget about working from home, we can't even take baths and do other normal things," said a woman, who is in her 20s, in the Garfa area.

With inputs from PTI