The Sunderbans Inheritance. 11:44pm, 25th May, 2009The last phone was at 8:15 pm approx from Manoj at Sunderbans Jungle Camp, Bali to Asit’s mobile which said “Kaku ekhaner abasta khub kharap” (Uncle the condition here is bad). Unfortunately, the line was one way, Asit kept on shouting, tell me in details how bad, but all of us could understand that his voice was not heard on the other side.
The first phone in the morning was from Ajoyda (Ajoy Roy), the famous newsman, who warned that the weather condition was worsening in Sunderbans. He was concerned, as his love for Sunderbans takes him there almost every month. I send an sms to Asit about it and called up Shaktida (Retd. Col. Shakti Banerjee) and we decided to meet at the Help Tourism, Kalighat office in the morning.
By the time we met at about 11am, the office had turned into a co-ordinating camp office. The updates were received from the Sunderbans Jungle Camp every 10 minutes, being passed on to the various administrative quarters. The Field Director of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, Mr.Subrat Banerjee called up Shaktida to co-ordinate army help, the same request rang from Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr.N.C. Bahuguna. The Help Tourism office suddenly became busy connecting Shaktida to the different ranks of the Army headquarters at Fort William which included the BGS, MGGS, Dy. GOC etc and also the Home Secretary, Mr.Ardhendu Sen.
Anil, the community leader for development in Bali and a poacher turned conservator with WPSI, was stranded in Canning and was sending updates from there. Mastermashai, the Chairman of our local conservation society reported in the evening that his school building was the shelter for several families in the village whose houses were gone with the wind and water. Four foreign tourists and a family of Indian tourists are caught in the Sunderbans Jungle Camp, the camp people informed that they had taken shelter in the room below the water tank, which was almost a three storied concrete structure.
The morning Bangla daily Anandabazar Patrika read, ‘destruction & rains being brought by Ayela’, a serious cyclone has hit the areas south of Calcutta (Kolkata). By the time the Sunderbans Jungle Camp was contacted, there were no boats to risk the water then. People had already taken shelter indoors. It was only day before yesterday, we (Manish, Ajoy, Bonani, Asit, Sanjib, Ranajit & I) had returned from Bali in Sunderbans after planning the rural health centre cum a mini hospital. This was after ACT (Association for Conservation & Tourism), a non-profit NGO supported by Help Tourism had already conducted more than a hundred health camps at Bali and decided that the solution is in a permanent infrastructure. It was several years ago, when the Sunderbans Jungle Camp was established in 2003 by Help Tourism, the first drinking water tube-well hand pump was established in that part of the village. We all exclaimed that the sky was Polaroid blue like the November sky and there was no sign of monsoon. We attended the ‘pathsala’ the children school and several other community development infrastructures. The sun was high and we had to take shelter under trees and people’s houses to avoid the heat. There was no sign of rain or cyclone visible to us, but alas, just after a day inbetween, this devastating cyclone. Both Asit & I are awake at the Help Tourism, Kalighat office waiting for information and taking action accordingly in the morning. Several concerned people have called me and offered all possible support, to name a few: Asish from Chennai, Pankaj from Mumbai, Jashoda from Gangtok, Ifte from Kolkata...
The first phone in the morning was from Ajoyda (Ajoy Roy), the famous newsman, who warned that the weather condition was worsening in Sunderbans. He was concerned, as his love for Sunderbans takes him there almost every month. I send an sms to Asit about it and called up Shaktida (Retd. Col. Shakti Banerjee) and we decided to meet at the Help Tourism, Kalighat office in the morning.
By the time we met at about 11am, the office had turned into a co-ordinating camp office. The updates were received from the Sunderbans Jungle Camp every 10 minutes, being passed on to the various administrative quarters. The Field Director of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, Mr.Subrat Banerjee called up Shaktida to co-ordinate army help, the same request rang from Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr.N.C. Bahuguna. The Help Tourism office suddenly became busy connecting Shaktida to the different ranks of the Army headquarters at Fort William which included the BGS, MGGS, Dy. GOC etc and also the Home Secretary, Mr.Ardhendu Sen.
Anil, the community leader for development in Bali and a poacher turned conservator with WPSI, was stranded in Canning and was sending updates from there. Mastermashai, the Chairman of our local conservation society reported in the evening that his school building was the shelter for several families in the village whose houses were gone with the wind and water. Four foreign tourists and a family of Indian tourists are caught in the Sunderbans Jungle Camp, the camp people informed that they had taken shelter in the room below the water tank, which was almost a three storied concrete structure.
The morning Bangla daily Anandabazar Patrika read, ‘destruction & rains being brought by Ayela’, a serious cyclone has hit the areas south of Calcutta (Kolkata). By the time the Sunderbans Jungle Camp was contacted, there were no boats to risk the water then. People had already taken shelter indoors. It was only day before yesterday, we (Manish, Ajoy, Bonani, Asit, Sanjib, Ranajit & I) had returned from Bali in Sunderbans after planning the rural health centre cum a mini hospital. This was after ACT (Association for Conservation & Tourism), a non-profit NGO supported by Help Tourism had already conducted more than a hundred health camps at Bali and decided that the solution is in a permanent infrastructure. It was several years ago, when the Sunderbans Jungle Camp was established in 2003 by Help Tourism, the first drinking water tube-well hand pump was established in that part of the village. We all exclaimed that the sky was Polaroid blue like the November sky and there was no sign of monsoon. We attended the ‘pathsala’ the children school and several other community development infrastructures. The sun was high and we had to take shelter under trees and people’s houses to avoid the heat. There was no sign of rain or cyclone visible to us, but alas, just after a day inbetween, this devastating cyclone. Both Asit & I are awake at the Help Tourism, Kalighat office waiting for information and taking action accordingly in the morning. Several concerned people have called me and offered all possible support, to name a few: Asish from Chennai, Pankaj from Mumbai, Jashoda from Gangtok, Ifte from Kolkata...
6 comments:
Post Cyclone, the response from the rest of the world to provide support has been extraordinary and participatory. One such e.mail will explain it better:-
Date 26th May, 2009 12:52
Subject: Helping Sunderbans
Dear all,
Sandra came up with the idea of using the Travel Philanthropy debates of last week to help raise funds for rehabilitation and relief at Sunderbans. Apparently there are hundreds of people who are ready to be part of TP and let's see how we can get them to work. Based on our discussions, we are proposing a fund raising campaign to bring relief to the people and animals of the region. Let me know your feedback on this.
"Help Tourism, The Blue Yonder and Travetocare.com appeal to raise funds for relief and rehabilitation at Sunderbans"
What we need:
Up-to-date information from the ground situation (Indian and Bangladesh part is involved, so we need to ensure updates come from both sides)
A platform to upload this information on a regular basis ( a website or a section on our website)
Volunteers to get this updated through facebook, twitter and emails
one contact each from TBY, HT, T2C to coordinate
One contact representing the entire organisation
A separate facebook group "Sunderbans Support Group"
A call for help to be compiled based on the present situation and of plans that will be implemented. Assurance of transparency in dealing. Invoke the travel Philanthropy discussion (targetting twitter and facebook groups) and request to support at this need of the hour.
A non-profit organisation to receive domestic and foreign funds. Nila Foundation doesn't have an FCRA so can get funds only within India, so need to check if ACT has one. If both of us don't have, then we can talk to the Home Ministry and get a special permission for duration of one month. ( this is time consuming!)
Campaign through facebook ( messages to all members of all the groups we represent), regular updates on twitter with a # Cyclone 2009. Re-activate the Travellers Philanthtropy discussion on facebook.
All of you to write individually to your friends and contacts - we will use a common text- where u can insert your personal note
Ensure that the rehabilitation face is updated regularly and our role is not restricted in updating the fund raising part
Get NDMC( National Disaster Management Centre) on board if needed. Vinod Chandra Menon, a friend who runs the show there was my boss at CDMC, Pune. we can pull strings.
Let me know how we can take this forward starting with collection of information from field. We should not put any pressure on Raj and Asit. Let them do their work. One of us contact them on phone and collect information that is needed for starting the campaign. Rest will fall in place, once we have the list of volunteers. Looking forward to hearing from you.
G
Asit Biswas sent a message to the members of Cyclone Aila 2009 - Support Group.
Part 01
In continuation of the field report posted by Lt.Col.S.R.Banerjee yesterday here is the latest update:
1.Mr.Shambhu Sinha Roy and Mr.Anil Mistry(both are coordinators of our local rescue and relief teams) report from Bali that no significant improvement can be seen in the cyclone affected villages and islands.A high-level official administration team visited the affected areas today including Bijoynagar Adarsha Vidya Mandir(A higher secondary school) where thousands of homeless villagers and children have taken temporary shelter since 25th May.
Many parts of the embankments are damaged resulting in constant flow of brackish water into the cultivated fields,water bodies etc.Repairing of embankments has not started yet.This might aggravate the situation as higher tide is due to set in from mid-June.
Acute crisis of drinking water still persists. Most of the tube wells have become defunct.It has been reported that government administration is planning to send three vessels carrying drinking water to far flung villages.
Medical assistance available so far is negligible. SHIS(a health NGO) and it's medical team is working tirelessly and providing vital support to the villagers.The state Animal Husbandry department team reached today.Diarrhoea has already gripped few areas in the villages.
Part 2
2.Mr.Hari Mandal and Mr.Gopal Mandal report that Choto Mollakhali, Satjelia, Kumirmari, Hemnagar, Shamshernagar islands are still under knee-deep water and people are in great distress there.Relief items so far reached are inadequate.No medical help has so far reached.
Part 3
3.Dr.Anurag Danda - Senior Programme Cordinator, WWF-India's Sunderbans Programme informs that almost half a million people have been affected according to latest reports. Heavy rainfall has submerged villages across the Sundarbans and most are still water-logged. People have taken shelter in schools, Panchayat buildings, hospitals, markets, and even on roads. Health and hygiene has become a serious issue due to the large number of deaths of domestic animals. It took over three days for electricity and water to be restored in Kolkata. Initial reports indicate that the administrative blocks in middle and eastern Sundarbans are worst affected. These are Gosaba, Sandeshkhali I and II, Patharpratima, Kultali and Basanti. Communication networks have been disrupted and inhabitants of many islands are still unreachable. The larger picture of the full impact of the disaster is not yet clear. WWF-India and other agencies fanned out at the earliest opportunity for a rapid assessment of the situation.
Part 4
4.Ms.Akangsha Garg from Dayapur island reports that There are countless rotting carcasses of fish along with those of domestic and wild animals which are on the verge of initiating an epidemic. Adding to this plight is the fact that, no medical assistance has reached the affected area as of yet on an adequate scale. It is of paramount importance that qualified medical help be dispatched to the affected area immediately. Bleaching Powder, Plastic Sheets, Food, and Water is being regularly supplied, to avert the epidemic and to minimize the intensity of the famine. Due to this tragic event, the arable lands have been rendered useless for cultivation for at least a year due to the increase in salinity of the soil, which has in itself increased the burden of the already impoverished locals.They along with a West Bengal-based Travel Agents Association have activated some doctors to visit and provide the village with medical help.
End of Asit's report
Impact on Wildlife:
Though we are getting sporadic reports from several islands about floating carcass of Spotted Deers(Over a dozen and half so far), it is yet not known as to how or how far the Wildlife has been able to cope up with the Cyclone.As anticipated of a calamity like this, there is speculation about Tiger death, but there is no eye-witness account, nor are any figures available yet.
I am leaving for a field visit starting from tomorrow.Update will be posted on Monday.
We have dispatched the 4th consignment of relief materials this evening.
Post a Comment