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Video Editor: Varun Sharma
Cyclone Amphan made landfall in West Bengal on 21 May, leaving behind a trail of destruction along the coastline. Lives lost, homes smashed, trees uprooted, losses worth thousands of crores – the aftermath of Amphan was unimaginable.
The fragile delta of Sunderbans, a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the worst affected by Cyclone Amphan, After Amphan made landfall, the sea water breached mud embankments and entered into villages, submerging acres of agricultural land and ponds, destroying crops and killing the fresh water fish.
The salty water has rendered the land infertile and it will be several years before these farm lands can be used for cultivation again.
Sunderbans, the world’s largest mangrove wetland, is a unique place. It is the delta where River Ganga enters the sea. It stretches across southern Bengal and a huge portion of it falls in neighbouring Bangladesh. Sunderbans is made of several smaller islands and about 45 lakh people call it their home.
Lakhs of farmers are estimated to have been hit by Amphan. These villages had faced the fury of Cyclone Aila in May 2009. They had seen their homes, their farm lands and their source of livelihood get ravaged. It took them more than a decade to rebuild their lives, only to see a bigger horror unfold.
Through Swaraj Abhiyan president Yogendra Yadav’s team, The Quint was able to hear the voices of residents of Madhya Gurguria village, which has faced the fury of Amphan.
Madhya Gurguria village is located in Kultali Tehsil of South Twenty Four Parganas district in West Bengal, India. Residents of this village practice farming and fish farming for a living. Farmers said that their okra, gourd and pumpkin crops were fully grown but everything was ruined in just a couple of hours before their eyes.
When Amphan made landfall, the 32 embankments which prevented the sea from coming into the land were breached. Villagers complained that the administration was aware that the mud barricades needed repair but work was still progressing at a very slow pace.
Within Sunderbans, the areas most affected by Amphan are Ghoramara Dweep, Kakdwip, Namkhana and Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas. While massive rescue and relief operations are still underway in these areas, there are several stretches where relief work is yet to begin.
Avik Saha, general secretary of Swaraj Abhiyan and National Convenor of Jai Kisan Andolan explained how Sunderbans is a fragile stretch and usually the most affected in any cyclonic storm in the area. He also appealed to the people of the country to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable residents of the affected areas.
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