Cyclone-scarred islands see healthy harvest, hope after years

Bengal's last outposts in the Bay of Bengal - the islands of Mousuni and Ghoramara - have seen their first full paddy crop this season after several years of being battered by cyclones.

In the past decade-and-a-half, a string of devastating cyclones caused these islands to get repeatedly swamped by seawater, leading to a sharp spike in salinity of the soil that made cultivation extremely challenging.

While Cyclone Aila in May 2009 left large tracts of farmlands in the Sundarbans barren for several years, 3 recent back-to-back cyclones - Bulbul in November 2019, Amphan in May 2020, and Yaas in May 2021 - severely affected soil revival.

This year, though, soil salinity dipped and farmers managed to nurse their fields back to health and grow crops in abundance.

"The harvest has been good this season. For the last 4 years, the yield was terrible and most villagers were dependent on free ration from the government," said Kanai Mondal, 70, who cultivated aman variety of the local 'Dudheshwar' rice on his 3 bighas in Poilagheri village of Mousuni.

Salinity management of the heavy textured soil of Sunderbans is a complex process. "Increasing the height of boundary walls of agricultural land helps in deposition of sweet rainwater during monsoon. This should be followed by ploughing and proper drainage to gradually reduce the salinity of soil," Dhiman Burman, agricultural scientist at ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, said.

This apart, soil salinity can be tackled by using seed-priming technique, organic compounds, and salt-tolerant seed varieties, said Bijan Adhikari, senior scientist, Rice Research Station, Chinsurah.

Rising sea level is a serious threat at Ghoramara, a fast-sinking landmass on the Muriganga river that has been reduced to just 4.8 sq km from a healthy 120 sq km, over the last 25 years.

"During cyclonic storms and high tidal waves, seawater breaches the embankments and rushes in," said Md Safiuddin, a Ghoramara resident, explaining their predicament.

Sk Faruque Ahmed, 32, who has 2 bighas at Mandirtala in Ghoramara, said, "We've been fighting against all odds for the last few years, but this year Allah has been merciful."

River bank erosion is gobbling up Mousuni, too, at an alarming rate of 1 sq km per year, reducing the island to just about 45 sq km now.

"Our island was once very fertile," said Shikha Rani Das, 67, who owns 13.5 bighas of farmland.

Saral Das, a Mousuni resident who works with a local environmental organisation, said heavy rainfall in 2021 greatly reduced soil salinity level in the area.

"For the last 2 years, there has been no cyclone. We are thankful to god for this," said Himagshu Aich, adding that their lives are getting back on track after a devastating period.

"We are expecting a very good cropping season in this part of Sundarbans," Chandan Pal, deputy director of agriculture (administration), South 24 Parganas, said.

Around 80% of farmers in these 2 islands cultivate local varieties of paddy. After this year's good harvest, many are planning to grow bitter-gourd, ridge-gourd, and green chillies during winter.