-The Hindu Unprecedented damage calls for policies geared to climate change For people in the ecologically fragile Sunderbans, life revolves around battling high tides daily and cyclones regularly. But every cyclone throws up new challenges to the Sunderbans and its inhabitants — something the people had not imagined, and policy makers are not prepared for. Over just the past three years, the Sunderbans, which is home to close to five million people, has...
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A sinking island of political pawns -Kalpita Bhar Paul and Megnaa Mehtta
-The Telegraph For the residents of Ghoramara island of the Sunderbans, the upcoming elections hold the key to their survival “How long can we keep our faith in words? I feel that not only have I been betrayed, but I have also betrayed my people. What else can I do except boycott the party gatherings [referring to the TMC] and withdraw from all this?” Walking alongside the river, as one observes the...
More »India bore maximum brunt of extreme weather events in 2020: Report -Jayanta Basu
-Down to Earth As many as 2,067 lives lost to floods in India through the year, the highest in the world due to climate change-induced events Floods and Cyclone Amphan in India accounted for maximum loss of lives globally due to climate change-triggered events in 2020. The cyclone, which ravaged Sunderbans in the southern fringe of West Bengal and hinterland including Kolkata in May 2020, led to “the biggest displacement” in world...
More »A Kerala rice variety could be answer to troubles of cyclone-hit Bengal fields -Vishnu Varma
-The Indian Express The Super Cyclone Amphan had left a trail of destruction in South 24 Parganas district where it broke embankments causing saline water to seep into agricultural fields making irreversible changes to the soil texture. Enter the endemic Pokkali rice from Kerala famed for its remarkable resistance to saltwater. Kochi: An interesting experiment is underway in the rice fields near Sunderbans of West Bengal to find out if a certain...
More »Is concrete the way forward in rebuilding the Sunderbans? -Megnaa Mehtta & Debjani Bhattacharyya
-The Telegraph Since 2007, the Bay of Bengal basin has seen at least 15 major cyclones, including Sidr in 2007, Aila in 2009, Phailin in 2013, Hudhud in 2014, Bulbul in 2019 and Amphan this year. Amphan made landfall in the Sunderbans, home to five million people, on May 20. More than 13.2 billion dollars worth of property was destroyed and more than 500,000 people left homeless. An Unesco heritage site,...
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