Devastating aftereffects of COVID-19 and Cyclones on Marginalised Communities

Story By: Priyank Samuel
Written By: Md Mahafooz Alam

Mithu Mondal is a 40-year-old mother of two and her husband is a daily wage labourer. They live in Dakshin Mundapara, Mathurapur II Block, South 24 Parganas of Sundarbans in West Bengal. The locality is in the coastal part of Sundarbans which is cyclone-prone. When a cyclone hits, the locality becomes inundated and water gushes into their house. However, they have managed to live there for the past 30 years as they have no other option to relocate.

The frequent cyclones make their life difficult, however, lockdowns due to COVID-19 has made their livelihood even more challenging. They had no work to earn their livelihood during COVID-19 lockdowns and cyclones had damaged their crops. The daily wage earned from labour work and the produce from their agricultural field is the only source of their livelihood.

“We faced havoc of natural calamity twice last year, first, cyclone Amphan wrecked our life, then cyclone Yaas, and restrictions of lockdowns made our living even more difficult with no ration at home,” lamented Mondal. Cyclones force them to abandon their house and shift to the nearby shelter homes and return only after the water recedes.

Cyclones have damaged their house again and again; it also damages the crops and agricultural field, however, the struggle for life was multifold due to the pandemic in last two years.
CASA came to their rescue during these lockdowns. They were provided relief support of ration and hygiene kits. The ration package consisted of rice, dal, sugar, etc., and hygiene kit consisted of masks, soaps, sanitizer, etc. Since their belongings were swept away in cyclone floods, they were also provided buckets, mugs, and other essentials.

In the nearby areas of the locality, there are no hospitals, they go to Raidighi (distant town) for even minor treatments. Therefore, they were provided with some basic medicines and ORS by CASA for emergency use.
She told us during the time of the disaster, “We were given shelter by the government in the Christian Mission School.” She also confirmed that CASA looked after the shelter management and added, “We will always remain grateful to CASA for helping us during the tough time.”