(b). 2nd Posting - Mekliganj, Coochbehar

 In early July 1968, I received my first order of transfer appointing me as the Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector (on probation) in the district of Cooch Behar. I was posted to the Mekliganj subdivision of that district with the trial powers of a Magistrate of the 3rd class. Mekliganj was known as a lonely and dull place. Officers would go all the way to avoid posting there. My Additional District Magistrate at Berhampore, Mr Anish Majumder (who later became Chief Secretary to the Govt. of West Bengal), had asked me if I were keen to move to the new place. I could have got my orders cancelled with his help, as did one of my colleagues earlier for his posting in a Development Block. But I felt it prudent to serve in the interior places in my early service career. The fearlessness I had acquired by then might also have prompted me to accept the challenge. This hasty and impulsive decision had a far-reaching effect on my later life and character. I now feel I made a grave mistake by not asking for the cancellation of my posting there.

Anyway, I joined my new post on September 16, 1968. I had arrived with a small hold-all of my bedding materials and a steel trunk containing some clothes, a few books, and some essential documents, the very ones with which I had joined service at Berhampore. There had not been any additions to my belongings during my stay at Berhampre; only a few hundred rupees were added to my bank account as savings from my salary.  

I had suffered a lot due to the absence of the bare necessities of modern life in this rural town where I had to live for more than four years. It used to give rise to a feeling of dismay and distress in my mind. Since my late teens, I did not live in such a poor environment. The Bungalow where I had to stay was far below standard living accommodation. 

Despite all its deficiencies, as stated earlier, as a place to live in,  I had some moments of joy while staying here. These were some nocturnal charms I felt while living in this bungalow. It would arouse in me a poetic and romantic feeling otherwise lying dormant. Very often, in the darkness of the night, I used to be, as it were, amid nature. On new moon nights, flocks of fireflies visited me and gave me company while flying around in the room, emitting their lights here and there. During the full moon I enjoyed the cool moonlight reaching through the window. Lying on the bed bathed in mystic moonlight, I imbibed the pleasure of viewing the full moon in the distant sky while my mind travelled as if to a dreamland. On monsoon nights, I used to be woken up by the thunder and the flash of lightning. I lay in silence, listening to the sweet melody of the rains, showering the iron roof; the chirping of the crickets came from a distance while thunders roared in the sky from time to time. At dead of the night, lying all alone on my bed, I enjoyed this romantic atmosphere; in this loneliness of night, I often yearned for the company of someone special.

[ During my visit to the place in 2015, I found that the Bungalow had undergone a total renovation (Captioned picture on the left panel above under "About my place of stay"). A veranda had been provided on the front side, and a pair of standard-size windows at one for each room as against small ones of our time, fixed on two sides of then existing central door.  Each room had at present, separate doors, one for each, on two sides of the central door for entering the individual room. In older days, the entry to these rooms could only be from the dining room.  The floor area of the individual room had also apparently increased; I did not have a view inside. The Bungalow, today, is also provided with AC and has modern bathrooms and toilets attached to bedrooms. In a word, it has now been made habitable as opposed to its 1960s and 70s versions. There was, however, no change in other structures within its premises, as I have stated above 

Save a bungalow for the SDO, there was only one Govt quarter here, meant for the officer, next to the Subdivisional Officer in seniority, called the 2nd officer in the administrative hierarchy. When I came here, that quarter was in the occupation of my senior colleague Balai Chandra Chakrabarty. Balai was staying there with his newly married wife. Soon Balai and his wife Chabi became my good friends. On the left is a photograph of the couple on the dried-up bed of river Balasone in North Bengal near Phuentsholing, where we had gone for a picnic.  

When I joined  SDO's office at Mekliganj, Balai had been the only other officer posted there. He was a 1966-batch WBCS (Ex) officer. Balai often invited me to lunch or dinner. His wife was not very apt to cook those days. He had a cook Dasu, who could cook well and was a trainer for the lady.   My friendship with Balai lasts till today. We live in the same cooperative building we had built in Salt Lake, Calcutta, with a few other colleagues. Balai was the prime mover in my joining this housing society. Unfortunately, he lost his wife a few years back. He has an unmarried son who lives with him.

In September-October 1970 Balai had left Mekliganj on transfer. 

Before Balai left Mekliganj, Sri Amal Kisku, another WBCS Officer, had joined as his substitute. Sri Kisku belonged to the Santhal community and was married. He stayed in a rented accommodation a little off from the office complex. He was the third officer. True to his tribe Kisku was a simple person. Once, he got his leg fractured in an accident while cycling to the office. He remained bedridden with a plastered leg for a few weeks. He was allowed to work from home at that time.

There were several honest and dutiful employees in the office of the SDO, Mekliganj. At the head of them was the Head Clerk, Malina Mohan Sarkar. Sarkar was a workaholic. He would be seen working in the office much before the office sat and long after the office broke. In emergent situations, like floods and elections, he would hardly leave the office and sometimes even forgo his food and daily necessities. His efficiency, sincerity, and reliability were beyond question. The then sub-divisional Nazir Sri Bijoy Chakraborty and the clerk-in-charge of the Relief section Debabrata Dutta were also thoroughly honest, dutiful, and efficient. 

At Mekliganj, I worked with four SDOs, all seniors in the service. 

Badal Chandra Choudhuri was the incumbent SDO when I joined. He was a colourful personality. He preferred speaking in English and calling himself Badal C. Cowdrey. He lived alone in his bungalow while his wife lived elsewhere and was probably engaged in a different profession. He was a connoisseur of poetry and a good table talker. He, it was said, had a weakness for women. I did not work with him for long. But I found him a good man, compassionate towards his junior officers. I may recount here an incident to show his goodness. As I said, I joined here in mid-September; the Durga Puja holidays were to begin within 7-10 days. I approached SDO for permission to leave headquarters to visit my home. He said he, himself, would be away during the holidays. So, I will have to stay back for administrative needs. Later, he cancelled his plan to leave for some reason. He then called me and permitted me to go. 

An unhappy incident, which I shall describe later, required him to leave the place all on a sudden.

After Badal Chaudhuri came Siddhartha Mitra, a 1959-batch WBCS officer. Mr Mitra grudged, recommending leave for his subordinate officers. He would go to avail of leave, keeping the subdivision in the care of two probationers,  Balai Chandra Chakrabarti and me. But when Balai or I needed to go, Sri Mitra would ask for a substitute from the Deputy Commissioner (DC). Even getting a replacement, he would first try to get the leave postponed citing various reasons, and if it did not succeed, try to get it curtailed. I remember he had sent me a communication for an early resumption of duty when I had gone on leave to attend the last rites of my father at my brother’s place at Silchar, even though there was a substitute working in my place. I did not, however, give any importance to his letter. Mr Mitra had once recommended a curtailment of the leave I had prayed for to attend my brother’s marriage. I have already narrated subsequent developments in that matter while telling about my first District Magistrate, Sri B. C. Sharma, on the page of my first posting. I surmise Sri Mitra was somewhat shaky in running the administration without his regular team of officers.

After Mr Mitra came Salil Ranjan Bhowmik, a 1960-batch WBCS officer. Sri Bhowmick was a good man. His wife, whom we called  Manjari bowdi, was a good singer. He had a son, Raja [2]. His mother also stayed with him. I learnt a great deal from him about the procedure for the conduct of an election. He used to say, “Conduct of an election is like giving a daughter in marriage. Everything should be flawless at every stage”. 

I got married during the tenure of Sri Bhowmik at Mekliganj. Mrs Bhowmik, our  Manjari Bowdi, had actively participated in my marriage reception. Sri Bhowmik's mother also liked my wife.

At the concluding stage of my tenure here came Dipankar Ganguly, a 1962-batch WBCS officer (since deceased as of 2020), who was my fourth and last SDO. 

I did not serve under any SDO for the rest of my service career.

Shortly after I had joined Mekliganj, I faced the havoc of the devastating flood of North Bengal. The year was 1968. I had gone to Silchar for the Puja holidays to see my parents staying with my brother there. 

During the Pujas, I spent some joyous days with my parents and relations there. With the holidays nearing their end, I started by train on a return journey to my workplace on October 5, 1968. I had my tickets booked up to New Mainaguri, the nearest railway station to my workplace. But, I could move only up to Gauhati (now Guwahati ). Train services west of Gauhati remained suspended due to the floods. I came to know by the time I reached Gauhati that there were severe floods in that part of West Bengal, too, situating my workplace. I had two options, (i) to return home and send a message to the DM and the SDO informing them of the inaccessibility to my place of work and applying for leave, and (ii) to take up a risky and uncertain journey by road in an attempt to reach my place of work. I decided on the latter, as I felt it my duty as a civil servant to be at my post at that crucial time. I, therefore, boarded a bus for Dhubri, which bordered the district of Cooch Behar in West Bengal, and from where I could reach my workplace by road. I somehow reached Dhubri but could not go beyond and had to halt for the night in a Dhubri hotel. River Pagladhara had submerged a bridge connecting Dhubri to Baxirhat of Tufanganj subdivision in the Cooch Behar district. The river water was swirling over the bridge, and it was impossible to cross over.

As the water receded, I boarded a bus to Baxirhat, from where I took another bus to Cooch Behar the next morning. At Cooch Behar, I reported to the Deputy Commissioner and stayed for the night there as advised. Bhaskar Ghosh was the Deputy Commissioner. There was no transport available for Mekliganj.

The vehicle (a Jeep) of SDO, Mekliganj, had come for repairs to Cooch Behar before the floods and was ready for return after the repairs. The morning after arriving in Cooch Behar, I started for Mekliganj in that repaired vehicle along with some of the staff members of the SDO's office, who had remained stranded at Cooch Behar due to floods, The roads were in deplorable condition having breaches and large potholes at places. The PWD had made diversions at points where the road had breached and was still at work at various points, as we had found during the journey. The rotten carcasses of domestic animals were lying here and there on the roads and the flanks. We had seen some carcasses being carried away by flooded roadside drains. The stench of the rotten animals permeated the environment. There were also numerous flood-ravaged houses nearby. We also heard the sounds of mud houses collapsing with the recession of water. It was a devastating scene.

After passing through such bleak scenes on a hazardous journey, I finally reached the destination late afternoon with the vehicle, which was the first vehicle to enter Mekliganj after the floods. The vehicle could not proceed up to the office premises as a culvert had breached on the way. I met our SDO Badal Chaudhuri on the way at a place near the locality called Singhpara . Mr Choudhuri was wearing an improvised towel (gamcha), in which he had crossed the channel at the collapsed culvert site. He was having some discussions with the local people. He was happy at my return and the return of the vehicle. After my return, I became busy with relief work. Shortly after, I was sent to Haldibari, the other block of the subdivision, to help the BDO in flood relief work there.

It was the first time I faced a flood situation; it helped me gain experience administering relief and rehabilitation for flood victims. 

Nirupam Mandal was the BDO of Haldibari at that time. He was fun-loving, dainty, social though a little casual and loved singing. He was a bachelor and lived alone. During my stay at Haldibari, I lived in his house as his guest.

Incidentally, while leaving for the Puja holidays, I had left my certificates and mark sheets of the examinations I had passed in my academic life in a steel trunk in the Dak bungalow, where I had put up on joining my post here. During the flood, water flowed into the Dak bungalow, seeped into my trunk, and damaged some of these documents. A few of the books I had received as prizes for academic excellence during my school days were also damaged .

When I was at Haldibari, an unhappy incident occurred at Mekliganj, which made the incumbent SDO leave the place all on a sudden. An air force plane had been dropping relief materials to the marooned people in the char areas (vegetative islands) of the river Teesta under Mekliganj P. S. During the operation, two packets of such materials somehow fell on the nearby school ground at Mekliganj, hitting and killing two persons amongst the people assembled there. Mr Bhaskar Ghosh, DC, Cooch Behar, and Mr Badal Chowdhury, SDO, had been close by. The mob attacked the SDO, who was seriously injured and had to be airlifted immediately for proper treatment. The Govt. later posted Mr Choudhuri  elsewhere. A resident who might have had some personal grievance against Mr Choudhuri had possibly engineered the attack. The SP, Cooch Behar, was also manhandled in that incident in trying to save the SDO. The SDO had no part in the accidental airdropping of the packets. The higher officials of the district administration, including the DC and the SP, were present at the spot. It betrays reasons as to why SDO would be selectively attacked unless there was something that did not meet the eye. 

For the next couple of months, we remained busy with the relief and rehabilitation work for the flood victims and the visits of higher officials. 

The worst affected district in the 1968 floods of North Bengal was Jalpaiguri, particularly the nearby Jalpaiguri town. Many human lives were lost, and numerous domestic animals died there. This flood was caused due to the Teesta Embankment at Domohoni in Jalpaiguri district, giving way as huge water surged forward following a heavy discharge from the upper region in Teesta Bazar. Earlier, there had been incessant rains in the upper reach of the Teesta Bazar, a place in the Darjeeling hills on the way to Kalimpong, for days together. The date of occurrence was the third of October, and the time was shortly after midnight.

A flood warning system for alerting people in advance was introduced in North Bengal on the recommendation of a Committee headed by K. K. Sen, ICS, after the flood. Mr Sen had also visited Mekliganj for that purpose.

If my memory fails me not, Mrs Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, had visited Mekliganj sometime after the floods of 1968. Possibly that was the only occasion a Prime Minister had visited this small town of Mekliganj. Mr Bhaskar Ghosh, the then DC, Cooch Behar, had driven the jeep by which Mrs Gandhi had travelled inside Mekliganj. Security agencies like SPG were not there in those days to guard the Prime Minister.  Mrs Gandhi had only her security officer with her, besides the security provided by the State police.

In early 1969, there was a mid-term election to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. It was my first opportunity to be actively associated with the conduct of an election and to have experience in that matter. Being in the Subdivision, I had a greater scope of learning matters in greater detail. This election brought the Second United Front Government headed by Ajoy Mukherjee, with Jyoti Basu as Deputy Chief Minister, to power in West Bengal. The Ministry was sworn in on February 25, 1969, and lasted for 13 months.

In March 1971, there was another mid-term election of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the second in two years. The resignation of Ajoy Mukherjee as the Chief Minister following his protest movement against his government on the deterioration of law and order had necessitated this election. This election was held under the President's rule; Dharamvira was the Governor during that election. It was the second time I got associated with the conduct of elections in the Mekliganj subdivision. I had already gained experience during the election of 1969, and this time it enriched my experience. I was deputed to Haldibari block to act as election-in-charge for that area  as Assistant Returning Officer. Jalpaiguri was then a disturbed district due to the Naxal movement. To access Haldibari, which formed a part of our sub-division, one had to pass through a long stretch of the Jalpaiguri district. Given the Naxal threat, apart from security at polling booths, special security arrangements had to be made for transporting polled ballot boxes from Haldibari to the sub-divisional headquarters of Mekliganj at a distance of about 75 km for the counting of votes. It required elaborate planning at the election reception centre at Haldibari for the safe keeping of polled ballot boxes before these were ready for despatch to the sub-divisional headquarters. We also had to seek the help of the army for the safe transportation of polled ballot boxes. By arrangements, an army contingent trailed the convoy of the paramilitary forces and the district police escorting the polled ballot boxes. I, in charge of election for the Haldibari PS area, and Mr Nirupam Mandal [5], the BDO, Haldibari were within the convoy. We started from Haldibari late at night and reached Mekliganj without any incident early next morning.

The Election Commission of India introduced some changes in the counting process in that election (1971). Such changes provided for mixing polled ballot papers of all the polling stations under a constituency before candidate-wise actual counting. The counting got delayed due to this procedural change. We had to work overnight to complete the counting of votes and declare the result. The process made it difficult for the political parties to identify areas that had voted for or against them.

I lost my father while I remained posted here. It was the 16th of August 1969; I received a telegraphic message from my brother saying that the father had expired the previous day. The news came to me like a bolt from the blue. There was no prior information of any disease other than old age ones. My parents had been staying with my brother in Silchar at that time. I left for home at once on receipt of the news but couldn’t see the body, as cremation was over, by the time I could reach the place. It took me two days to get to Silchar; those days, there was no arrangement for embalming the dead bodies at Silchar. I observed all rituals with my elder brother, attended the last rites (Sradh), and returned to my place of work. The last memory of my father was of July 1969, when I had gone to Silchar on leave for a few days to spend time with the family; I could not accompany the marriage party of my brother when he returned home after marriage. At the end of that leave, when I started for my workplace, my father came out of the bamboo fencing of our house to see me off, and I bowed down to touch his feet to seek his blessings. That was the last time I saw my father alive. That scene remains etched in my mind. 

I had great love, respect, and concern for my father. I never acted contrary to his advice or protested in his face. My father was a real fighter. After being displaced from our homeland, he fought tooth and nail to save his family. In my childhood, when he went out for some work, I could not be at rest till he returned. After he established the printing press, I used to be with him to help him with his work, except when  I would be in school or on studies. Possibly it was due to all this that I had not been swept away but could rise head high in the face of all odds, financial and psychological. For, there goes a tenet in Sanskrit,

"पिता  धर्म्मः पिता कर्म्मः पिताहि परमं तपः ।

       पितरि प्रीतिमापन्ने प्रियन्ते सर्व्वदेवता ॥

Love and respect for parents are on the wane in modern society. Old parents often get neglected and ill-treated. They are even assaulted or thrown out of the house. We come across such reports in the media from time to time. There are instances where ill-fated parents had to move the court of law to recover their property from their children, who had driven them out. Possibly, this is the result of the break-up of a joint family. After enjoying everything singly or with another sibling in a nuclei family, today’s children become too self-centered. In this dynamic age of adaptation, they do not get the education to differentiate between goodness and wickedness, while moral education remains too far. 

I have provided below a link (at the bottom of this page) to a newspaper report on the killing of parents by their son due to a property dispute.

I firmly believe such people, dishonouring or causing harm to their parents, get paid back for their acts in some form or other, whether they know it or not. 

In early August 1970, there was again a severe flood affecting more or less the whole of the Mekliganj sub-division. I was again deputed to Haldibari to assist the BDO as the in charge of relief and rehabilitation for the flood victims.

As the situation demanded, I requisitioned army help in the shape of boats and personnel for relief and rescue operations. It was on the 9th of August, 1970. The Army Major to whom I had handed over the requisition was at that time in Haldibari surveying the area with his team. I had acted here beyond my powers; I would be in soup if anything went wrong. But I had to do it to save life and property. In the districts, only the Deputy Commissioners or the District Magistrates have the power to requisition the army. My Deputy Commissioner was more than 200 Km away, and it was an emergency. I had, however, kept the DC informed. The DC had later formally confirmed the requisition to the army authorities concerned, ex post facto.  I recount this incident to highlight that civil servants if needed, have to give precedence to the safety and security of life and property over rules and regulations in the public interest. It reminds me of a question put to me in my interview for entry to the service. I was asked if there were a severe flood requiring immediate relief to be given to the people or repair of the breaches in the embankments to do, whether I should wait for the completion of tender formalities as per the Govt rules for procurement of materials or undertakeing repair work. My reply was that the safety of life and the property should have an overriding priority.

I must record here that the Major, who had led the army contingent I had requisitioned, was a good man. He was one Major Ganapati. I found in him a sincere, earnest, and helpful army officer.

Deployment of the army, however, brought with it the associated problems. One morning, the local MLA Amar Roy Pradhan of the Forward Block rang me up and demanded immediate replacement of the army contingent; an army jawan had molested a local woman the previous evening. I contacted Major Ganapati, who informed me that he had already been working on it and expected to find and punish the culprit by the evening. I intimated the position to the MLA, adding that replacing the contingent as he demanded would be no guarantee against the recurrence of such incidents. Besides, the Major had already initiated action, and the punishment, when awarded to the culprit on identification, would deter others in the contingent from such acts. In the evening, Major Ganapati informed me that he had identified the culprit and sent him back to their headquarters to face penal action. The matter rested there.

At that time, there used to be demonstrations led by local political leaders at the BDO's office, Haldibari, to press for relief materials for their followers. These were parts of their political programme. On a couple of occasions, Major Ganapati happened to be in the office during a visit to his area of operation. He wondered why I was not taking action against the trouble mongers. Later, I told him that though politics was involved in the matter, the demonstrators were our people and in distress; we had to listen to them and wait up to a point before we took any action to quell them.

Soon there occurred an incident forcing me to take action against the demonstrators. On Sept 3, 1970, people from some areas, along with their Panchayat representatives, assembled in front of the BDO’s office and started pressing for relief for those whose names had been duly struck off the eligibility list for relief distribution after a field survey. These people had objections to the contents of the survey report. It is a normal phenomenon often seen during flood relief operations. The BDO and his officers conducted negotaions with the local representatives, and some of their demands were acceded. The other demands put forward by the local representatives were also under consideration, when at around six in the evening, the crowd outside the  BDO’s office suddenly became restive and resorted to violence. They attacked the BDO's office and broke its furniture. Due to brick-bating, a constable of the police picket, posted in the office, received bleeding injuries. Demonstrators tried to force them into the office. At that point, I,  as an Executive Magistrate, declared the assembly unlawful  and asked the OC of the P. S. present there to disperse the mob. There was a mild lathi charge, and the crowd dispersed. I got full support from the Deputy Commissioner. After that incident of the lathi charge, there were no demonstrations or deputations in the BDO's Office so long as I had stayed there. 

Then, there was the Bangladesh Immigrant problem of 1971. It primarily affected the Haldibari Block of our subdivision. The incoming stream of immigrants swelled the population of the Haldibari PS area to almost double within a short period. These immigrants spread all over the  PS area, taking shelter wherever they found any vacant space. They caused severe strain on accommodation, food, clothing, and public health. In the first few days, people came in large numbers. We had no prior intimation of this migration from Bangladesh and had no preparation for receiving them. It took us some time to arrange provisions for them.  A good section of these people had to stay in the open for a few days after all public buildings got occupied. In the absence of alternative arrangements, they defecated in the open space, causing a health hazard. The rains coming now and then further aggravated the problem. It was a tremendous task to keep the situation under control. However, with the cooperation of all agencies, we could successfully tackle the problem.

At SDO's orders, I had to visit Haldibari often to oversee the arrangement for the refugees there. 

To resolve the problem, the government had to build temporary structures on available vested lands on an emergency footing and appoint additional employees to maintain camps in these structures. Guards, too, were posted to ensure the security of the people in the camps. As the influx of immigrants in Haldibari was enormous, we could not accommodate all in that PS area alone. A sizeable portion of them got dispersed to other subdivisions of the Cooch Behar district, according to a plan the Deputy Commissioner had drawn up. The Deputy Commissioner had monitored the entire operation for the reception and settlement of Bangladeshi refugees. Sri Baroda Charan Sharma was the D. C. of Cooch Behar at that time. As far as my memory goes, the government commended him for his meritorious services in successfully managing the Bangladeshi refugee problem in the Cooch Behar district. A few other DMs/DCs of the border districts, too, were commended similarly. 

A section of non-Bengali immigrants, too,  had infiltrated along with others. It became necessary to set up a separate camp for them. Initially, it was at a place called, Jamaldah. Later, it was shifted near the BDO's Office, on the bank of the river Dharala, in Chnagrabandha, Mekliganj. The camp remained securely guarded.

Cattle thefts and illegal immigration were frequent in the border areas of Mekliganj in those days. As a Magistrate with third-Class power, I tried these petty cases and similar other offences. Thus, I gained first-hand experience in holding courts. My trial power lapsed with the separation of the judiciary from the executive wing, which took place in the Cooch Behar district in the early 1970s. After the separation of powers, I exercised the power of an Executive Magistrate of the 1st Class.

It is also here that I learnt car driving. The government drivers deputed with vehicles for relief and rehabilitation work for the refugees from Bangladesh helped me much in this. I had always been a devoted learner; I soon became adept and confident in driving.   I used to drive the vehicle, with the driver sitting by, while on tour to distant places like Haldibari or Cooch Behar. I admit it was not legal even though I had gained driving experience on the National Highways by it. I did not also have a driving license though I could have gotten it quickly if I wished. By my good fortune,  I did not cause any accident, for which I could face prosecution for driving without a license.

In those days, Mekliganj was one of the few sub-treasuries where cash transactions, too, were done by the treasury. Most of the Treasuries in the districts of West Bengal were then non-banking treasuries where the State Bank of India did the cash transactions. It was indeed a unique experience to work in the treasury doing cash transactions, too. It helped me understand how the treasuries conducted cash business for the government in the older days before the Reserve Bank of India in Calcutta and the State Bank of India in the districts took it over.  We had large quantities of old obsolete coins[7], besides currency notes and stamps of various denominations in court fees, non-judicial and postal stamps[8] in the treasury strong room with the double-lock[9]system. Question papers for the public examinations also used to be kept in the custody of the treasury. 

Annual verification of accounts of the treasuries was a statutory requirement for the District Magistrates/Deputy Commissioners. During such verification, all the stocks of stamps and the currency, including this large number of old coins, had to be verified with the balance in the registers. The verification of these old coins was made by weights according to the procedure laid down in the West Bengal Treasury Rules. Cash for the treasury used to be replenished by bringing currency from the State Bank of India, Cooch Behar, on a requisition sent via the district treasury. There was an additional post titled Poddar for cash handling in such treasuries.

I  also gained experience in the registration of properties by officiating as Sub-Registrar in the absence of the regular Sub-Registrar on leave or otherwise. 

On behalf of the SDO as the Superintendent of the sub-jail, I also used to look after the day-to-day administration of the sub-jail. I was aware of a general complaint of substandard food materials supplied in various jails. I visited the sub-jail at times particularly, when the contractors brought in the materials for daily consumption in the sub-jail, to check the standard of supply of those materials. I had also warned a supplier for default in the quality of materials supplied. Some jail staffs, who were in league with the contractor, were unhappy at this and were conspiring to attack me during my visit. Thanks to a certain well-wisher [10], the information reached me in advance. This part of the job made me acquainted with the administration of jails in the state.

Finally,  I had fulfilled all the requirements for my confirmation in service while at Mekliganj. I had also received orders of my confirmation in the service there itself. 

Civil officers at Mekliganj were very few, and social and cultural life was dull. We had few people outside the official circlewith whom we built acquaintances. I somehow managed to spend four long, painful years with some friends I had picked up here. Amongst my friends were Balai Chakrabarti of my service, Dipak Mukherjee, and Satish Kumar Taneja from Registration Service. Taneja had also stayed with me in my official quarters for some time. He later joined the WBCS. He was posted in Darjeeling and was working as the officer in charge of the Census with other duties when I joined as the Deputy Director of Census Operations in 1981. At that time, I had once stayed with my family in his quarters for a night during my tour to Darjeeling. That was when we got acquainted with his wife and her lovely children. 

We had also made friends with the Assistant Commandants of BSF posted at Mekliganj to guard the borders. Bipul Sengupta, Samir Mitra, and Harbachan Singh Gill were some of our friends from BSF. Bipul later left BSF to become a lecturer in a College. Samir later retired as DIG, BSF, and settled in Calcutta. We lost contact with Gill after he was transferred to Kashmir.

Later, in April 1970, after the separation of the Judiciary from the Executive in Cooch Behar District, we had amongst ourselves excellent judicial officers like Mr Sukhendu Bikash Dasgupta, Asit Baran Lahiri, Binoy Kar, and others. 

I also had a good friend in Jiban Kanai Saha, posted in the SSB as Sub-Area Organiser at that time. He stayed in Cooch Behar but sometimes visited us, unannounced, in the dead of night. While visiting Mekliganj, he stayed with me in my bachelor days and once with his family in my post-marriage life. He was pleasant company. After long years, when enquiring about his whereabouts the other day, I learnt that he had passed away about a decade back (as of 2022). Though not unexpected, the news gave me a jolt. Jiban Kanaida was a good soul. 

My best friend Dipu had visited me in Mekliganj twice, once in my bachelor days and again after my marriage. He stayed with me on both occasions. We had spent some good moments together after long years.

Once during my bachelor's days here, I went to a place, quite off from where I stayed, called Nagrakata only to meet one of my college friends, Debashis Nandy. Debashis had joined there as an Assistant Engineer, PWD (Roads). We met after long years and spent the day together, sharing the pain and pleasure of bygone days.

Madhusudan Roy was the local MLA when I had joined. He belonged to the Congress Party. Balai and I were on good terms with him. Madhusudhan Roy was one of the persons outside the official circle with whom we occasionally used to spend some time. Amar Roy Pradhan of the Forward Block living in Haldibari had later defeated him in an election to become MLA. I had interacted with Mr Roy Pradhan on official matters on a couple of occasions when I was at Haldibari. He was a good man and reasonable, too. .

Satyen Mazumdar had been the local leader of the Forward Block Party at Mekliganj. He often led demonstrations/deputations to the SDO on various issues. Balai had once told me Satyen Babu often became aggressive while meeting with the SDO with a deputation, and it fell upon Balai to do the unpleasant job of restraining Satyen Babu from closing into the SDO. Being the third officer in charge of the Treasury, I did not have much to interact with him besides exchanging pleasantries or receiving deputations led by him now and then in the absence of the SDO and the Second Officer. 

What we lacked most in Mekliganj was the source of entertainment. Even for a movie, we had to go to nearby Jalpaiguri town. Frequently, we failed to have even four people together to play cards.

As the only source of entertainment, Mekliganj used to have some Jatra performances organised in the winter and, at times, football tournaments. Well-known performing parties from Calcutta participated in Jatra. I remember watching some of these Jatras till small hours, especially after Balai had left. Games did not attract me.

In the final analysis, I may say, Mekliganj may be good to spend a couple of days in peace and tranquillity on occasional visits. But for someone with an urban background, it may be tormenting, especially, if he is a bachelor and required to stay for a long time.

During my stay at Mekliganj, I lost contact with the world outside. Most of my old friends could not be in touch with me. There were a few people at Mekliganj to interact with besides those in the official circle. Though I had acquired some good friends, they could not fill the void in me. The place being far off from Calcutta and having a shortage of officers working here, the scope to visit Kolkata by availing of leave to enjoy the company of my friends or the pleasure of city life did not practically exist. My reading habit had also suffered for want of reading materials. There was not even a good bookshop here. The General Library was full of old books; one could hardly find books of one's interest. Often, the time beyond office hours would hang heavy on me. I idled away the time listening to music after I had a transistor. I favoured listening to songs in the Radio Ceylon programme Geetmala presented by Amin Sahani. 

Since my birth and before coming to this place, I had lived in a district town or a metropolis. It was, in real terms, a punishment for me to live in the rural atmosphere of Mekliganj.

Finding myself somewhat in a situation like what the poet penned in the poem, The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk, I would often recite the following verses from it.  

Looking back, I feel, at times, that I would have been happier if this chapter on Mekliganj were not in my life. I indeed gained many experiences in my personal and official life. But, those had cost me many good things in life too. I had to give away the best four years of my youth to this godforsaken place. My stay in an environment devoid of social and cultural life for years had caused mental constriction in me. I had suffered the pains of loneliness every moment of my bachelor days here. I felt from within my heart why officers felt afraid to take up an assignment at this place.  I had undergone several changes and was not the same man when I left this place.

I had received my order of transfer to the Kalna subdivision of the Burdwan district in May 1972. I left Mekliganj on the 19th of December, 1972. The delay was due to successive officers appointed to replace me declining to move to Mekliganj. As I have already said, most of my service colleagues considered Mekliganj a godforsaken place and would avoid going there unless compelled. I couldn’t blame them for what I had gone through here. I could ultimately move at the intervention[12] of B. C. Sharma, Joint Secretary of the then Home (GA) Department, who had been my District Magistrate in more than one district, and of whom I have spoken earlier in this memoir. Had he not been there, I don't know for how many more years I would have to rot in this place. 

I had joined my post at Mekliganj as a probationer but left as a confirmed officer in the service.

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