An island limps back to normalcy amid tensions, fears

Pushpita Das returns to paddy farming in Sandeshkhali after reclaiming land from TMC leaders amid ongoing political tensions and upcoming elections.

It was around mid-day and pale wintry sun of a late January day had burnt away the morning mist over Majherpara village in Sandeshkhali island. Bending over and wading through ankle-deep water, 35-year-old Pushpita Das was busy transplanting paddy saplings in rows, in a plot in front of her hut.

Ahead of one year of violence against women at Sandeshkhali, vandalised farm house of arrested TMC leader Shibaprasad Hazra over land grab and violence against women remain abandoned at Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas Dist, West Bengal. (Sameer Jana/HT Photo)

“I am cultivating paddy on this land after a gap of four years. Uttam Sardar (the local Trinamool Congress strongman) illegally grabbed acres of village lands and introduced saline water