COVID-19: 'Isolation', a blessing in disguise for this village in West Bengal

At a time when the country is grappling with maintaining social distancing and isolation due to the COVID-19 outbreak, residents of a village in West Bengal’s East Bardhaman district has been virtually isolated from rest of the state for most of their lives.

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Located about 150 km from Kolkata, the village known as Begunkola, is surrounded from three sides by the mighty Ajay river and there is no proper road connecting it with the rest of the state. The side of the village spared by the river is cordoned by a narrow canal which overflows during the rainy season basically turning the village into an island. The village has no proper transport system connecting it with the rest of the state.

“We have spent most of our lives in isolation due to the location of the village. We barely venture out of the village. How much more can we get isolated?” said one of the villagers.

He also said that following the COVID-19 outbreak their “natural isolation” has become a blessing in disguise.

“Yes. It's extremely inconvenient to live like this. But considering the situation we think the isolation of our village will save us from the virus,” locals said.

The villagers are mostly farmers and since the farming ground is adjacent to Begunkola they don’t have to venture outside to earn their livelihood.

Earlier a number of families have settled elsewhere in the district due to the inconvenience caused by the geographical isolation of the village. But now the 50-odd families, which stayed back, consider themselves relatively safe from the outbreak due to their “isolated” village.

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However, the villagers are cautious and now they venture outside the village even less than before.

“Our relatives rarely come here. Apart from that, almost no outsider enters the village. We are not afraid but are cautious,” locals said.