Sunderbans

The number of tigers in the Sunderbans is likely to rise in the next census as there is no threat of saturation and sufficient prey base in the 4,200 sq km area of the mangrove forest, a senior forest official said. The number of Royal Bengal Tigers in West Bengal's Sunderbans as per the 2022 census was 101. "The 2022 tiger census count of 101 is nowhere close to carrying capacity in near future... ," Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy told PTI. "On a terrain like the Sunderbans carrying capacity means the number of tigers per 100 sq km. If you keep in mind that Sunderbans has an area of 4,200 sq km and calculate, the carrying capacity of tigers will be far below than any saturation level," he said. Roy said the prey bass consisting of spotted deer is regularly replenished for the tiger population and the forest department is working on steps like anti-poaching, anti-trafficking and barring entry of fishermen, honey collectors, wood collectors and other villagers living in contiguous

With winds gusting up to 135 kilometres per hour, severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' made landfall between the coasts of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal, bringing heavy rains that flooded homes and farmland, and leaving a trail of destruction. The landfall process began at 8:30 pm on Sunday over the adjacent coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country. 'Remal' flattened fragile dwellings, uprooted trees and knocked down electric poles. One person was injured after being hit by debris in the Gosaba area of the Sundarbans. More than one lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in West Bengal before the cyclone struck. "Severe cyclonic storm Remal made landfall between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh on Sunday night with wind speeds reaching up to 135 kmph," the meteorological office said. News footage showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in coastal res

The West Bengal government has drafted an action plan with the help of Dutch experts to tackle floods, prevent embankment damage and decrease salinity level in Sunderbans and in the coastal areas. Principal Secretary of Irrigation and Waterways department Prabhat Kumar Mishra told PTI that the department had signed the letter of intent (LoI) with the Netherlands government in the sixth edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit in April last year for technical assistance in delta management and development of the Sunderbans and coastal areas of Digha. "An action plan has been formulated and pilot project already taken off near Mousumi islands in South 24 Parganas district to strengthen embankments and the Dutch team - consisting of experts - has made three-four visits to the delta areas of south Bengal to take forward the work," he said. Mishra said various waterways, including blocked water canals and river channels, crisscrossing parts of south Bengal, had been connected with .

Spearheaded by the UAE in partnership with Indonesia, MAC was launched at the COP27 Summit in Egypt to scale up and accelerate the conservation and restoration of the mangrove forests

The cyclonic storm developing in the Bay of Bengal will primarily impact the Sunderbans spread over West Bengal and Bangladesh, as tidal waves are likely to reach a height of six metres owing to the twin effect of the weather system and astronomical tide, the Met Department said on Sunday. The deep depression over central Bay of Bengal (BoB) is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Sunday evening and after changing course in a northeastward direction from northwest, the system will reach north BoB before making landfall between Tinkona Island and Sandwip close to Bangladesh's Barisal in the early morning of Tuesday, a top official said. "The main affected area will be the Sunderbans in the coastal areas of North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal and in Bangladesh," Deputy Director General of Regional Met Centre, Sanjib Bandopadhyay, said. The development comes as people gear up to celebrate Kali Puja and Diwali in a big way after two years, amid easing Covid case

Nylon net fencing to prevent tigers from entering human habitations were damaged, breeding centres for crocodiles and Batagur baska - a rare species of turtle were inundated

High tidal waves owing to new moon and incessant rain have caused the water level to rise in the Sunderbans area, damaging earthen dams along various rivers even as IMD warned of heavier downpour

West Bengal Sundarbans Affairs Minister Manturam Pakhira said the region had suffered losses worth thousands of crores and everything had to be rebuilt from scratch

In the absence of alternative livelihoods, villagers living in the region claim unfettered access to the forest, despite high chances of a tiger attack