Locks are hanging on one dilapidated house after another in the poor slum. Tin roofs, broken tile roofs covered with plastic sheets. But there are no people on the dusty roads. The residents have completely disappeared, leaving locks hanging on flimsy tin doors. Local residents allege that several families have left the Biswaspara area of Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas since SIR was launched. The local Trinamool councillor claims that many of them are residents of Bangladesh. Many have homes in the Sundarbans. Neighbours believe they have left the area out of fear of SIR.
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Biswaspara area is in Ward No. 3 of Madhyamgram municipality. Water accumulates during every monsoon on the relatively low-lying land. About 10 families had been living here for the past 10 to 15 years. Locals claim that many of them came here from Bangladesh. Some came from the Sundarbans area and started living here. They have ancestral homesteads in the Sundarbans area. All of them work as daily labourers or domestic help. The Sundarbans area residents have voter cards and Aadhaar cards of this country. But their names are not in the 2002 voter list. And those who are residents of Bangladesh have no documents for living in this country.
Since SIR was launched, locks have been hanging on those houses in Biswaspara, Madhyamgram. The slum has virtually emptied out. Locals claim that most residents have left the Biswaspara slum in phases over the past few days as soon as enumeration forms for SIR started being distributed. Local CPM leader Ahmed Ali Khan said, "Some residents of the Biswaspara slum have made voter and Aadhaar cards of this country. The question arises as to how they created identity documents of this country. What was the BSF doing when they crossed the Bangladesh border and entered this country?"
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Jumman Ali, Trinamool councillor of Ward No. 3 of Madhyamgram municipality, said, "Some of those who were living here from the Sundarbans have Aadhaar and voter cards. But none of the Bangladesh residents have any documents or identity cards for living in this country. They could not even vote. They did not receive any government benefits either. They have left the area out of fear of SIR."
