KOLKATA: The state Irrigation and Waterways department is coming up with specific micro plan for each of the 33 vulnerable islands of the Sunderbans so that nature-based solutions from the Netherland government can be sought for their protection. The department is also preparing schemes for increasing fresh water flow from north to south through the seven tidal rivers as their connection with the Hooghly-Ganga basin has been cut off due to the tectonic movements over the years.
“Among the 54 islands in the Sunderbans, we have identified 33 as vulnerable and each of them being unique, specific micro plan is required. So, we have started working on it, on the basis of which we will seek assistance from Netherlands for flood mitigation, embankment damage protection for these islands,” a senior official of the state Irrigation and Waterways department said.
A Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Netherland government was signed by the department in the sixth edition of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit held in April last year for technical co-operation in the field of integrated delta management and development of the Indian Sunderbans.
“The salinity of the Sunderbans is increasing by leaps and bounds with the saline water sneaking into the islands, every time when there is inundation. The fresh water flow through the seven tidal rivers getting adversely affected has aggravated the problem. So, re-excavation at the upper delta is badly needed for interconnection of these rivers with the Sunderbans while in the lower delta, embankment for islands’ protection and water conservation by creek excavation are the two major components of work, for which we are seeking Dutch assistance,” the official added.
Principal Secretary of the department Prabhat Kumar Mishra recently attended a high-level meeting hosted by the Ministry of Jalshakti in New Delhi, where stock taking of the work, already undertaken by the Bengal government as per advice from the Dutch, was done. Infrastructure minister of Netherlands along with a number of economic experts attended the meeting.
Consultants from the Netherlands have already visited the Sunderbans twice and on the basis of their advice, a pilot project regarding construction of embankment for flood mitigation has been taken up at Patibunia near Mousuni Islands and another at Gopiballabpur near Patharpratima. The design for the pilot project is presently being executed.
The five year project (2022-2027) with Netherlands — known for its expertise in water management — involves exploration, design finalisation and accordingly scaling up phase so that nature-based solutions can be adopted to prevent saline water from sneaking into agricultural soil causing damage to the crops and also
plans for rainwater harvesting that will help in nurturing more crops leading to a sustainable development of the Sunderban archipelago.