পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৬৫৩

621 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড confusion. Her drama started in 1912 when the authorities decided to deprive her of the envied title of the capital of Indian empire by shifting it to Delhi, situated about 15(H) kilometers in the North-West. The partition in 1947, resulting in the division of Bengal of which Calcutta was the commercial and industrial city and the largest port of communication with outside world, inflicted a second blow on her from which it will never recover. The jute, which was the source of her prosperity and which came from rich plantations of East Pakistan, no more feeds the factories of Calcutta. The port itself, which used to be an active place, is now in distress. Today Calcutta, with its 8 million population is no more than its own shadow. Filthy and over-populated, Calcutta has now a misery which continues to increase due to incessant flow of refugees. Bicycles rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, shabby vehicles. Hood its streets on which, one finds unperturbed cows, always sacred in the eternal India. Thousands of small businessmen are now settled on narrow footpaths. Small and filthy shops, destitute families are seen occupying houses which are no better than wooden frames, the traffic is impossible and disorderly and multitudes of unemployed persons always ready for adventures is the picture of Calcutta at this moment when India is undergoing perhaps the most gloomy lime of her history, The guide who came to escort me from Oberoi Hotel, one of the latest palaces of the past, informed me that our journey was long and hard. He was going to take me for a bath of refugees (bain de refugies). Calcutta due to her geographical situation with East Pakistan and being an old capital of Bengal, is the city to which rushed all those who tied from civil war of East Pakistan. Some kilometers from the city, on a plain soil of many hectars. lies the human misery which I was able to see. Accumulated, Pell-mell in the refugee camps, were 200,000 persons who had escaped from the terror and have now during a few weeks created a new city in the neighborhood of Calcutta. A suffocating smell and filth all around obsessed me. The children in clusters were lying under the sun in front of their tents. They looked dull and sometime bewildered. The smiles seemed to have deserted their faces, howsoever sweet they were. At a distance from them were their parents, including women and aged persons, clothed in rags of faded colours, who were rushing to form a queue for their food ration which was being distributed with parsimony. There was milk, semolina and dry-vegetables but food shortage was obvious. The Indian administration, assisted by international organizations, is trying with all means at her disposal to meet the situation which unfortunately is deteriorating every day. In Calcutta itself there are two camps of refugees, each of about 200,000 persons. Twenty other camps are scattered all over Bengal. A camp for administration purpose and for distribution of food is divided in zones. In each zone there is a centre of distribution of food and vaccinations. The relief is being provided by UNICEF. FAO, U.N. High Commission for Refugees, International Red Cross. W.H.O. and other private humanitarian organizations. But still this does not suffice. On 15th August, 1971 the number of refugees became up to 8 million and according to specialists it continued to increase at the rate of 50,000 refugees per day. The Indian Government is spending 20 million rupees per day to meet the situation and is looking forward for international help in face of such a. misery.