(Continued from Part 1 : The Silence of Marichjhapi)
Thus a population of approximately 30,000 settled in Marichjhapi and carried on their business, trade and occupation unaided by Government and solely relying on their enterprising skills to sustain themselves. They gave themselves food, clothes, shelter, education, health and other cultural and recreational pursuits ever since April 1978. It was said that they built up smithies for production of agricultural implements, pottery manufacturing units for household units, handlooms for weaving cloth, making of mats from indigenous fibre plants, centres for building of country boats, biri manufacturing, bakeries, manufacture of sweetmeats and condiments, handicrafts for manufacture of bamboo baskets and carpenters woodcrafts, fisheries and bheries, kitchen garden’s etc. They built two local marts (bazaars), schools employing local teachers and a private hospital; four dispensaries were also set up. Manufacturing fishing nets was a regular occupation. In this way, a sizeable population of thirty thousand attempted to rehabilitate themselves by setting up a home away from home. Indeed, Marichjhapi could have perhaps served as an ideal model for refugee rehabilitation in the ages to come.
বা ঙা ল না মা 
