COVID 19: Lockdown Severely Ruins Petrapol, a Business-Driven Border Town

KOLKATA: Petrapol, a border town located 80 km from Kolkata, has been going through an acute crisis. Located in the Indo-Bangladesh border area, the local economy of this border town is hugely driven by business. 

On April 5th, when the Bangladesh government announced a complete lockdown, the residents of Petrapol were extremely devastated by the news as their entire local economy is driven by business from the border. This border town is mainly engaged in catering to the people who choose to travel to either side of the border to India and Bangladesh thereby offering cargo services, travel agencies, private taxis and vans, and shops selling refreshments to weary travelers.  As per a resident, since March last year, they have been "finished" and may not survive now. 

"That word of our nightmares is back again: lockdown," reckons a taxi driver at the border. 

In the Indo-Bangladesh border crossing in Petrapol, North 24 Parganas, party flags can be witnessed in a rather formal area which is an indication of how intense the election fire is this year. 

The plight of the businesses can be witnessed by seeing the bleak condition of a traveling agency called Desh Travels, situated about a hundred meters from the border. What used to be a busy place before the pandemic now stands deserted with a large empty waiting hall with lights off and just a fan on for the two people behind the counter in order to save electricity. 

"This industry used to work on visitor visas. The road you see, it had no space to even walk. But in March last year, both India and Bangladesh stopped travel. We once had as many as five buses a day running from here to New Market in Kolkata. But now we are down to one or two buses, and even those are erratic. The company had 24 staff, now there are 15. The EMIs on the buses are not being met, and the drivers will be laid off soon. What will we and our children eat?" exclaims Mohammad Amin with sorrow. 

Dilip Thakur, sitting next to Amin further showcases their plight by adding, "The few buses left would bring people coming to India for treatment, and some for business. They would go to Kolkata, and then hospitals in Vellore, Chennai, and Bangalore. Now that too has stopped." 

For the people of this border town, COVID 19 is not a real issue. Neither does anybody wear masks nor does anyone have a clue about the vaccination drive. According to Thakur, COVID is an urban disease due to which they have to face the brunt of it. He also adds that he is willing to vote for anyone who does not impose lockdown. 

Petrapol falls under the Bongaon Uttar Vidhan Sabha constituency that votes on April 22. In the 2016 election, TMC had emerged victorious from the seat. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Assembly segment voted decisively for the BJP, giving its candidate and Matua leader Shantanu Thakur close to 30,000 votes. 

Large segments of the voters, the majority of who belong to the Matua community, show resentment towards the Mamata-led TMC government and show an inclination to BJP, who aggressively woo the community for the 2021 West Bengal elections. 

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