Riot-Hit Tea Stall Owner to Leave West Bengal

 Berhampore: 73-year-old Nikhil Saha from Jangipur in Murshidabad has decided to leave West Bengal with his family forever. He wants to move to Jharkhand and settle there afresh. The plan was however not a long drawn one.

It hit him after his tea stall on National Highway 12 near Dhulian Dakbanglow area was destroyed on April 11 in the communal riots that broke out during the violent anti-Waqf law agitation. Mr Saha was running his outlet for the last 60 years.

Recalling the attack on his shop, he said, “I along with my workers was forced to flee to save ourselves. Later when we returned, we found the shop vandalised. Everything was looted. Though it was close to Shamsherganj BDO office, the police did not come to our rescue despite my frantic calls.”

This was not however the first time he faced such a situation. When clashes over the NRC erupted a few years ago, his shop was targeted also. Mr Saha later rebuilt his shop. But this time, it was different. The threat on his life changed him. Disappointed, he made an advance payment from his hard-earned savings to buy a katha of land in the neighbouring state.

Mr Saha added, "I was born and brought up at Dhulian but had to change my mind to shift with my family somewhere else despite being a son of the soil. My income has stopped. I will try to open a shop in Jharkhand to survive at least in peace.”