farming to make two ends meet. Actually for the landless families, this is the only
source of income.
Another significant occupation is zari work, done by the women mainly in
several of the villages. They are employed by agents from Kolkata, who delegate
them the work and purchase the entire output from them. In absence of electricity,
the women work in candle light and subsequently damage their eyesight. The
income is meagre, much less than the market rate; yet, since they can do this work
from home, it suits them. This is certainly a good source of income for those
women whose husbands have gone out to work outside Sunderbans as construction
labourers, thus making them the only earning members at home.
The art of boat making has been prevalent in the Sunderbans since the days of
the Mughals. Villages well known for this work are Basanti, Jharkhali, Mollakhali,
Rangabelia, Canning, Gosaba, etc. Boats are usually made from the barks of trees
like Babla, Khirish, Goran, etc. The handicraft sector in the Sunderbans is rather
small. Beautiful and colourful mats, rags, hats, baskets, shades and other decorative
items are made by the locals using shrubs and leaves or barks of Dates and Palm
trees. Mathurapur and Mandirbajar two small towns in South 24 Pargana are well
known for this art. Goods made from thermocol, iron, bamboo and clay are also
produced in a few villages and towns. Sweets made from jaggery and dates from
Joynagar and Canning (S 24 Pargana) are quite famous. Handicrafts could be a
better alternative for these people, but it needs to be developed. There is neither any
capital for starting a business, nor there exists any transport infrastructure to carry
the finished goods to the market or sell them locally. The region lacks adequate
banking facility, lack of credit and cooperative societies, according to Banerjee
(1998) and these factors constrain the growth of these alternative livelihood options
in the region.
Thus, we can say that the two major livelihood options for the people of
Sunderbans are heavily dependent on nature, fraught with risks and from the looks
of it not very sustainable. The rest, while not risky are in desperate need of some
capital investments and development of infrastructure.
1.3 Effect of Climate and Anthropogenic Changes
on Sunderbans
Till the year 1770, the Sunderbans of India and Bangladesh together was spread
over an area of 36,000 km
2 . Currently, it covers an area of 25,000 km
2
, which
means almost 11,000 km
2 has been lost due to erosion. According to Hazra, (Future
Imperfect 2007) by 2020 the region would lose 20 % of its land. The Indian part
consists of 9630 km
2 and the rest lies in Bangladesh. Out of the 9630, 4264 km
2 of
wetland constitutes reserve forests, which in turn comprises of 2195 km
2 of mangrove forest and 2069 km
2 of tidal river. This means that an area of around
5336 km
2 has been cleared of forest and used for human settlements in 19 blocks
364
H. Pakrashi
source of income.
Another significant occupation is zari work, done by the women mainly in
several of the villages. They are employed by agents from Kolkata, who delegate
them the work and purchase the entire output from them. In absence of electricity,
the women work in candle light and subsequently damage their eyesight. The
income is meagre, much less than the market rate; yet, since they can do this work
from home, it suits them. This is certainly a good source of income for those
women whose husbands have gone out to work outside Sunderbans as construction
labourers, thus making them the only earning members at home.
The art of boat making has been prevalent in the Sunderbans since the days of
the Mughals. Villages well known for this work are Basanti, Jharkhali, Mollakhali,
Rangabelia, Canning, Gosaba, etc. Boats are usually made from the barks of trees
like Babla, Khirish, Goran, etc. The handicraft sector in the Sunderbans is rather
small. Beautiful and colourful mats, rags, hats, baskets, shades and other decorative
items are made by the locals using shrubs and leaves or barks of Dates and Palm
trees. Mathurapur and Mandirbajar two small towns in South 24 Pargana are well
known for this art. Goods made from thermocol, iron, bamboo and clay are also
produced in a few villages and towns. Sweets made from jaggery and dates from
Joynagar and Canning (S 24 Pargana) are quite famous. Handicrafts could be a
better alternative for these people, but it needs to be developed. There is neither any
capital for starting a business, nor there exists any transport infrastructure to carry
the finished goods to the market or sell them locally. The region lacks adequate
banking facility, lack of credit and cooperative societies, according to Banerjee
(1998) and these factors constrain the growth of these alternative livelihood options
in the region.
Thus, we can say that the two major livelihood options for the people of
Sunderbans are heavily dependent on nature, fraught with risks and from the looks
of it not very sustainable. The rest, while not risky are in desperate need of some
capital investments and development of infrastructure.
1.3 Effect of Climate and Anthropogenic Changes
on Sunderbans
Till the year 1770, the Sunderbans of India and Bangladesh together was spread
over an area of 36,000 km
2 . Currently, it covers an area of 25,000 km
2
, which
means almost 11,000 km
2 has been lost due to erosion. According to Hazra, (Future
Imperfect 2007) by 2020 the region would lose 20 % of its land. The Indian part
consists of 9630 km
2 and the rest lies in Bangladesh. Out of the 9630, 4264 km
2 of
wetland constitutes reserve forests, which in turn comprises of 2195 km
2 of mangrove forest and 2069 km
2 of tidal river. This means that an area of around
5336 km
2 has been cleared of forest and used for human settlements in 19 blocks
364
H. Pakrashi