Eco-warriors of Sundarbans

Kapoori Sil (34), a homemaker, lives in Vidyasagar Palli, a village in Jharkhali gram panchayat limits inside South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. She and other volunteers of Jharkhali Sabuj Bahini are busy protecting their homes and hearth from the impact of the increasing cyclones and tidal waves in the Sundarbans by planting mangroves. And, their action has helped tame nature’s fury.

“We collect the seeds of mangrove species during high tides, develop them into saplings and later plant them on the Matla river bank,” says Kapoori.

Seeds of mangrove species are called “propagules” because they germinate while still on the tree — a feature that helps them grow rapidly upon falling on the soil when ripe. Kapoori and more than 200 women volunteers of Bahini have planted lakhs of saplings under the guidance of Akul Biswas (44).

Though he lost his vision in his childhood due to glaucoma, Biswas knew that areas with less vegetation cover in the Sundarbans region bore the highest brunt of cyclones.

Having seen enough catastrophes, he formed Jharkhali Sabuj Samaj in 2005. in Jharkhali gram panchayat area. That was when they decided to plant mangroves.

Natural barriers

Mangroves are natural barriers against climate disasters that help dilute the strong blows of the high tidal waves. They can grow pretty quick and reach up to two metres or more within two years. The river beds are protected as the mangrove roots hold the soil and prevent landslides.

The cyclone-prone Sundarbans region is encircled by rivers Matla, Bidyadhari and Herobhanga. The Bahini’s efforts have proved beneficial here. The protection from Cyclone Yaas that hit the area in 2021 can, in part, be credited to the mangrove saplings planted by the villagers of Jharkhali during the previous two years.

“Cyclone Yaas inundated several coastal villages in the Sundarbans, but failed to breach the Matla river bed and spared the inhabitants of Jharkhali from becoming homeless despite the area being a low-lying one,” Biswas elaborates.

Despite insufficient resources and a perpetual fund crisis, Biswas continues to motivate the locals in activities like afforestation and raises awareness about the environment.

The Bahini also runs a coaching centre in a makeshift tent for school-going kids and their mothers who dropped out of school when they were young.

“Cyclone Aila in 2009 caught us unawares. The embankment was washed away, the surge in water levels damaged homes, uprooting trees and electric poles, destroying farmlands, washing away cattle and even killing the fish in the pukurs (household ponds),” recalls Biswas.

“The areas that had no mangroves let the water enter and inundate the surroundings,” he adds.

Joining hands for the mission

The Sundarbans forest region, sandwiched between West Bengal and Bangladesh, is spread over 10,000 sq km; the mangrove cover in the Indian part of Sundarbans spans roughly 2107 sq km and nurtures about 34 plant species. Located 109 km from Kolkata city, the Sundarbans continue to be remote and inaccessible.

In 2005, when Biswas began his activity along with a few children on the bank of the Bidyadhari river on the eastern side of Jharkhali village, many joined him, including a couple of homemakers, a handful of physically challenged, senior citizens and tiger widows (women who lost their husbands to tigers).

Over the years, his team has grown to include more than 200 women from 17 villages in the Jharkhali gram panchayat limits.

Come June, the Bahini volunteers begin hunting for the fruits of Heritiera fomes, locally known as sundri or sundari, a mangrove tree. The germination and processing of seedlings continue for three months, beginning in July. The plantation is done between October and January, with volunteers devoting around two hours a day, planting almost 200-250 saplings per day.

Over the years, according to Jharkhali gram pradhan Ranjan Mondol, around 300,000 mangrove saplings have been planted covering 75 hectares, thanks to the efforts of both the Bahini and the Forest Department. The movement is active for a decade and a half now.

“We are unable to provide remuneration to our volunteers but we distribute clothes and foodstuff from donor NGOs, namely Goonj and SEED,” informs Biswas.

A Kolkata-based non-governmental organisation, Society for Socio-Economic and Ecological Development (SEED) has been collaborating with Bahini since 2008. Besides running six mangrove nurseries in the area, it has involved itself in supporting the livelihood of tiger widows, installing micro-solar domes (lighting devices) in the homes of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families in the area, encouraging the development of fruit plantations, supporting climate-resilient agriculture by distributing salt-tolerant paddy seeds and organising health camps for the locals.