The never ending expanse of the Sunderbans mangroves presents a tale of imperialist inhabitation fighting to ensure survival in a capitalist world… largely inhabited by the British on the premises of timber and land revenue, this fickle landscape has seen its population multiply to almost four times from ~11 lakh in 1951. Add to that land loss due to rising water levels, the saline carnage of cyclones and the occasional oil spill, and this otherwise unique ecosystem is surely in the grips of not-so-unique travails.
The fishermen stand flummoxed at the forefront of this quandary. While the brackish waters of the delta system do provide a variety of fish species, a simultaneous surge of negative environmental impacts are already putting strains on the limited supply. Water salinity has increased dramatically post Aila, and is further exacerbated in the dry season with a majority of the Ganges’ distributaries silting up in the summers. Pollution is rampant from both sides: while industrial effluents and pesticides pollute from the land, oil leakages are threatening the ecosystem from the seaward side.
The fishermen still persist, and if one is to believe them, will persist till the last traces of piscine are culled out of their mortality, and the last glimmer of hope for posterity is lost in a melee of hydrocarbons. The fish might be stunted or poisoned, but the pangs of depravity will always stymie the impulse to migrate. It is but a matter of time before the fishing net is abandoned, and it’ll not be the only thing left behind.
