Ghoramara Island (Bengali: ঘোড়ামারাদ্বীপ) is an island located 150 km south ofKolkata, India in the Sundarban Delta complex of the Bay of Bengal.
What would you do if you see all that you had in life, sinking right in front of you?
Ghoramara, an island located 150 km south of Kolkata, India in the sensitive Sunderban delta complex of the Bay of Bengal, has earned the stark sobriquet of 바카라sinking island바카라.
The island, once spanning across 20 sq. km, has been reduced to an area of 5 sq. Km now.
바카라Over the last two decades I바카라ve lost 3 acres of cultivable land to the Muriganga river and had to shift home four times. There has been no resettlement initiative from the government,바카라 says Anwara Bibi, 30, resident of Nimtala village in the island.
Global warming has caused the river to swell, as the river pours down from the mighty Himalayas and empties into the Bay of Bengal. High tides and floods is playing havoc on the fragile embankments, displacing hundreds of islanders every year. 바카라Most men have migrated to work in construction sites in the southern part of India,바카라 says Sanjeev Sagar, Panchayat Pradhan of Ghoramara Island.
More than 600 families have been displaced in the last three decades, leaving behind 5,000 odd residents struggling with harsh monsoons every year.
바카라A large-scale mangrove plantation could prevent tidal erosion. With every high tide a part of the island is getting washed away,바카라 says Sugata Hazra, professor, school of oceanographic studies, Jadavpur University.
Only those without any means to migrate are left in this island.Recent research conducted independently by School of Oceanographic Studies has estimated that 15 per cent of Sunderbans would sink by 2020, with the possibility of Ghoramara disappearing from the map.
Amidst such existential crisis, it is not surprising that issues such as education is being neglected.바카라The nearest senior secondary school is across the river at Kakdwip. A more practical way for sustenance is leaving the island in search of work,바카라 says Sourav Dolui, 16, a 9th grade student at the Ghoramara Milan Bidyapeeth.
The mud houses are vulnerable to cyclonic storms and floods. Families alongthe coastline has been forced to shift several times, as the coastline keeps receding.
With the onset of monsoon, rising water levels pose severe threat ofinundation. Several households along the fragile coastline, are often washed away
The major occupation of the people is agriculture and fishing. Located near theBay of Bengal, this is a fishing hotspot.
Bhogoboti Dolui, 12 stands on an almost uprooted tree near the Hathkhola village. Constant flooding and tidal waves deplete the soil and leads to the uprooting of trees.
Only a handful of families dare to stay along the coastline, haunted by past experiences of nature바카라s wrath. The sinking of Ghoramara Island can be attributed to a confluence of disasters, both natural and human, not least the rising sea.
Sonali Khatun, 13, a grade VII student of the 바카라Ghoramara Milan Vidyapeeth바카라 stands on the fragile coastline of the island. Frequent flooding makes it extremely difficult for students to reach the school.
Suraj Jamal Mallick, 12, a student of grade VI sits in front of his broken house. Every year, with every new inch shrinking, several people in the Island are becoming homeless. These people have been termed 바카라environmental refugees바카라.
Lack of cultivable land has forced many islanders to take up fishing for a living.
The fragile embankment very often gives away to large tidal waves causing widespread inundation, resulting in loss of cultivable land and animals.
