পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৪০২

370 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ১৫২। অবিশ্বাস্য দুর্ভোগ টাইমস ১৫ মে, ১৯৭১ THE TIMES, LONDON, MAY 15, 1971 UNBELIEVABLE MISERY Peter Hazelhurst Bongaon, May 14-An overworked medical officer pointed hopelessly towards the never ending stream of refugees from East Bengal who so far have almost doubled the population of the Indian town of Bongaon, 50 miles north-east of Calcutta "What is to become of them when the monsoon rains come?" he said. "They don't even have straw huts for shelter, and it is doubtful whether we can control a cholera epidemic under these conditions. They are going to die like flies." It is estimated that during the past few weeks nearly two million refugees have already crossed the border, and at least 200,000 have been settle in Bongaon and the surrounding district. With fixed stares, the emaciated figures plod across the border as they flee from the terrors of civil war, starvation, and poverty to face an even more hopeless and impoverished future in India. The lucky ones have been given shelter in the huge camps established by the Indian Government and international relief agencies on the outskirts of Bongaon-but schools, public buildings, and communal tents are already overflowing and newcomers have to fend for themselves. Those with a little money have managed to purchase fimsy grass matting and have constructed pathetic huts in the fast developing squatter camps on the side of the road. But most of the millions of men women, and children who have fled East Bengal belong to the most impoverished nation on earth where a man earns on average about £30 a year, and they have come across the border with nothing but a few rags on their backs. With hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, they go wearily down the road out of the overcrowded border town towards the south-west, towards Calcutta, where a million people are already elbowing each other for sleeping proof on the pavement. As we Passed the stream of refugees. Mr. Daniel Dolui of St. Paul's College, Calcutta a student volunteer attached to C.A.S.A., said: "Where is it going to end. Twenty thousand new refugees are arriving in the district every day. We had 11 camps in town two days ago. Now there are 22." The misery and poverty are unbelievable. The Indian Government has done a magnificent job, but it has been taken by surprise and its resources are limited. We passed a village school converted into shelter for woman and children. There was a queue of thousands outside the communal kitchens. Some will wait for five hours for their deliberation of cooked rice.