struggle for existence

7/23/2019 Struggle for Existence

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Struggle for Existence: A Case Study About

Marginalized People of Sundarban

Samik Chakraborty*

*Samik Chakraborty, (M.Sc. – Geography, B.Ed.), Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of

Applied Geography, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Oceanic Sciences, Ravenshaw University,

Cuttack – 753003, Odisha, India. Email ID: [email protected] , Contact: +91-

89616-02706.

Abstract:

Sundarban is a vast mangrove ecosystem, located in the eastern coastal part of Bay ofBengal in southern Bangladesh and West Bengal in India (21° - 22°30´ N and 88° - 89°29´ E), it

was formed by the sediments brought down by the river Ganga, Bramhaputra and Mehgna. The

name ‘Sundarban’ is literally termed as ‘beautiful forest’ in Bengali (Sundar – beautiful, ban -

forest). The name may have been derived from the ‘Sundari’ trees (a type of mangrove –

Heritiera fomes), that are found in Sundarban in large numbers. It became inscribed as a

UNESCO world heritage site in 1984. But, the living conditions of people of Sundarban is not

very well due to so many problems like frequent cyclones and floods, embankment breaching,

poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, unemployment, lack of safe drinking water and electricity, rapid

population growth, infiltration, girl trafficking, poor communication, lack of banking service,

soil erosion, forest depletion, loss of navigability of rivers and so on. For these problems they are

become deprived and marginalized. Government has taken so many projects for their

development. ‘Sundarban Development Authority’ was also established for this purpose but such

steps are not enough to mitigate their problems completely. They need much more proper plans

for their permanent development from both, Government and NGOs.

Key words: introduction, livelihood pattern, problems, solutions, future of people of sundarban.

Introduction:

Mal distribution of wealth is seen since the beginning of civilization and this situation is

still unchanged even today. It is very painful to see that in the most of the cases, economic status

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mailto:[email protected]



becomes the main indicator to determine the standard of living as well as social status of human

beings. In recent years, regional disparities in terms of development are a very popular concern

among geographers and scholars from other branches of disciplines, also. The developmental

processes are mainly taking place in the large urban centers whereas the rural areas are still in the

darkness of deprivation. There are many marginalized group of people in those rural areas whohave very least access to basic minimum facilities for their living in terms of food, shelter,

employment, health, education, social security and so on. They always struggle with extreme

poverty. Even Governments do not have proper master plan to mitigate their problems and

permanent solution. Extreme poverty and endless deprivation have made these groups of people

and region marginalized. High standard of living, various job opportunities, access to civic

amenities of these urban areas act as pull factors which attract mainly the working population

from the marginalized regions. Even sometimes children are forced to work as child laborers in

various unorganized sectors in those urban centers. Hence, urban areas enjoy the inflow of

resources from rural or marginalized regions and become more developed gradually where as

rural areas face a lot of problem because of the outflow of natural as well as human recourses.

So, we can term this process as Development Terrorism.

People of Indian Sundarban are underprivileged from the basic minimum facilities of

living. They always fight with the environmental unreliability for their existence. This is one of

the most underdeveloped regions of the country. There are so many problems which have made

the people of this region marginalized, these are extreme poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition among

women and children, unemployment, lack of safe drinking water, rapid population growth,

problems of infiltration from Bangladesh, human trafficking, lack of electricity, underdeveloped

communication system, lack of banking system, loss of quantity and quality of land due to

embankment beaching, flood problem, increasing salinity and various socio-economic and

infrastructural problems.

Das (2005) has done an extensive work on man and environment of Sundarban. He has

given the primary focus on the distinct environmental features and problems of marginalized

people of Sundarban. This study also includes some plan of development, significance and future

of this region.

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Das and Pramanik (2010) have also discussed the areas of problem of people of

Sundarban. They have given the elaborate explanations of factors responsible for this and they

also have classified the types of problems such as physical, socio-economic, infrastructural as

well.

A research entitled “living with Changing Climate” (2012), done by Centre for Science

and Environment under the direction of Mr. Chandra Bhushan, worked on impact, vulnerability

and adaptation challenges in Indian Sundarban. This study consists of effects of changing climate

on Indian sundarban, land erosion and management, survival of people, development deficit,

causes of rural migration and agendas for action.

Present Study:

Keeping the above facts in mind the present study focuses on the struggle for existence of

marginalized people of Sundarban.

Geographically, Indian Sundarban is located at 21º00´ to 22º30´ North latitude and 88º00´

East to 89º29´ East longitude at a height of 3 to 8 meters from the mean sea level on the southern

fringes of the state of West Bengal, where the Gangetic plain meets the Bay of Bengal. The site

of the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, the Sundarban is a group of several hundred islands,

spread across 9,630 sq km in India and 16,370 sq km in Bangladesh. On the Indian side, it

extends over two districts, 13 blocks in South 24 Parganas and 6 in North 24 Parganas.

The Sundarban delta has taken its current shape over the past 300 years. The islands are

low, marshy, alluvial plains that are still in the process of being formed through siltation and

powerful tidal currents, a continuous process of erosion and accretion. As new land is added to

the existing mass, some parts are eroded away as part of a natural cycle. The delta is

characterized by beaches, mudflats, coastal dunes, sand flats, estuaries, creeks, inlets and

mangrove swamps. Rivers, estuaries and creeks carry saline water nearly 300 km inland from the

Bay of Bengal. Approximately 2,069 sq km area is occupied by the regions seven main tidalriver systems or estuaries, which finally end up in the Bay of Bengal.

The delta comprises of 102 low-lying islands, of which 54 are inhabited. All habitation is

on reclaimed land, which amounts to an area of 5,363 sq km. Some 4,266 sq km of the Indian

Sundarban are covered by these swampy estuarine forests that make up at least 60 per cent of

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India’s mangrove stock. The Sundarban has 84 species of mangrove plants, the highest recorded

among the mangroves of the world, and the Sundari tree (Heritiera fomes) is one of these. These

trees are eponymous with the region, the area deriving its name from them. Besides these trees,

the Sundarban is home to a number of other unique and endangered flora and fauna. It is the only

mangrove forest in the world which holds the Royal Bengal Tigers.

History of the Study Area:

Before 19th century, Indian Sundarban had no human population or habitation. In 1771,

British collector general Clod Russell initiated a plan to divide the forest land into plots and lease

them out to prospective landlords. At stake were timber and the collection of land revenue. Theselease-holding landowners encouraged poor farming communities from other parts of Bengal as

well as from neighboring states (present day Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh) to come

and settle in the Sundarban. These people were put to work on clearing the forests and

developing the land. This exercise of forest clearing began in 1781, and was initiated by Tillman

Henkel, the then magistrate of Jessore district, currently in Bangladesh. Initially, the forests were

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cleared mostly in the northern parts, closer both to Kolkata and Dhaka. By 1873, the blocks of

Hasnabad, Bhangar, Haroa, Hingalgunj, Minakhan (North 24 Parganas) and Canning, Joynagar,

Mathurapur and Sagar (South 24 Parganas) had been fully or substantially cleared of forests. The

migrants were also made to erect embankments to make the place habitable by blocking

ingression of saline water. Apart from the lure of paid work, these poor farmers were also offeredthe bait of small pieces of land by the lease-holders. The initial provisions and some cultivable

land of their own made a majority of these migrants stay back in the Sundarbans. Migration

continued in the later periods from Midnapur in the west of Bengal as well as from the east (now

Bangladesh). Over the years, the population of Indian Sundarban has increased dramatically –

from 11.59 lakh in 1951 to 37.57 lakh in 2001, or almost 224 per cent over half a century. The

decadal increase between 1991 and 2001 was close to 18 per cent, which is equal to the

population growth in the entire district of South 24 Parganas. It was declared as a “World

Heritage Site” by UNESCO in 1984 and as a “Biosphere Reserve” in 1989.

Objectives:

The main objectives of the study are as follows:

To examine the livelihood pattern of marginalized people of Sundarban.

To analyze the major socio-economic problems of them.

To find out the factors responsible for such problems.

To find out some remedial measures to mitigate their problems.

Database and Methodology:

The study is based completely on the secondary sources of data collected from Census of

India, District Human Development Report, District Crime Data and various reports of

Sundarban Development Board and Centre for Science and Environment. The indicators of this

study are as follows:

1. Economic Status

1.1.Occupational structures

1.2.Poverty

1.2.1. BPL households

1.2.2. Food security

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2. Social status

2.1.Health

2.1.1. Infant mortality

2.1.2. Malnutrition in children

2.1.3.

Doctor patient ratio2.1.4. Public health centers

2.1.5. Access to safe drinking water

2.2.Education

2.2.1. Upper primary dropout

2.2.2. Number of degree colleges and technical institute

2.2.3. Household with education beyond class X

2.3.Access to electricity and transport and communication

2.4.Crime against women

Analysis:

Occupational structures:

The Occupational structures of the Sundarban are mainly classified as agriculture,

fishing and collection of non-timber forest produce, all natural resource-based activities.

About 85 per cent of Sundarban’s population depends on agriculture. The

productivity of paddy is very low and fails to offer profitable returns to the farmer. It is

about 6,000 per acre against an investment of Rs 4,000. There are three dominant reasons

why agriculture will remain subsistence in Sundarban. Firstly, the land holdings are

small. There is also land loss to deal with. Finally, there is a limited potential to develop

irrigation facilities, which means multi-cropping cannot be practiced extensively.

Over the past 80 years, there has been no significant gain in land in Sundarban.

On the contrary, there has been a net loss. The rate of erosion after 2000 has almost

doubled compared to that in the 70 years between 1930 and 2000. In 1930-2000, almost

283.58 sq km was lost to erosion, while 83.97 sq km was gained. This point to a loss of

approximately 2.85 sq km a year.

Between 2000 and 2008, the total land lost was 64.162 sq km, and that gained was

20.120 sq km. The net erosion thus was 5.5 sq km per year – the rate of land loss had

doubled. The net land lost in the Indian Sundarban was thus 44.042 sq km a year.

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The ten sea-facing islands in southern Sundarbans – Sagar, Ghoramara,

Jambudwip, Namkhana, Mousuni, Dakhsin Surendranagar, Dhanchi, Dalhousi, Bulchery,

and Bhangaduani – are the most vulnerable. Together, they account for 69 per cent of the

land lost to the sea. Islands like Bhangaduani in the east and Jambudwip in the west lost

16 to 20 per cent of their land area between 2001 to 2009.

Land, in fact, is a key resource, and is at a premium. Indian Sundarban suffers

from an acute state of landlessness – about 47.55 per cent of the households do not own

any land.

Fishery is the second biggest source of employment in the Sundarban. On an

average, around 4,000 individuals fish daily. With an average catch of 1.5 kg per

fisherfolk per day, the annual fish catch amounts to 66,995 tones. Though fishing

activities continue throughout the season, production starts increasing at the onset of

monsoon and reaches its peak during winter. The two main types of fishing activities in

0

50

100

150

200

250

AMOUNT OF TOTAL LAND LOSS IN 2009

A

r e a ( s q .

k m . )

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Joynagar I

Mathurapur I

Canning I

Kakdwip

Canning II

Joynagar II

Mathurapur II

Basanti

Namkhana

Gosaba

Sagar

Kultali

Patharpratima

PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH NO LAND

%

Islands Land Loss (sq.

km.), 2009

Sagar 240.00

Namkhana 145.49

Dhanchi 62.20

Dakshin

Surendernagar

42.02

Dalhousie 34.28

Mousuni 28.28

Bhangaduani 26.16

Bulchery 23.29

Jambudwip 4.98

Ghoramar 4.56

Blocks Households with no land (%)

Joynagar I 69.38

Mathurapur I 61.65

Canning I 58.92Kakdwip 56.58

Canning II 55.86

Joynagar II 52.09

Mathurapur II 51.70

Basanti 43.97

Namkhana 39.00

Gosaba 35.59

Sagar 31.61

Kultali 31.25

Patharpratima 30.66

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Sundarban that have substantial commercial value and need capital investment are

aquaculture (aquafarming) and marine fishing.

The other types of fishing activities are largely at subsistence levels. These

include brackish water fishing (nona-ghery or bheri), tank and bile (water pods within

paddy fields), fishing in the rivers, fishing in the forest and winter migratory bag-netfishery – where migratory fish and seedlings are trapped in the shallow estuaries.

But now, both commercial and subsistence fishing are threatened and declined

due to over-exploitation. This is a direct outcome of the increase in the number of people

moving towards fishing. The diminishing returns in agriculture prompt many farmers to

shift to fishing.

The mangrove biomes of Sundarban provide some of the essential components of

livelihood of the forest-dependant island villagers of the area. These people collect a wide

variety of non-timber forest produce including tannin bark, natural honey, cultured

honey, bees wax, fuel wood, prawn, crab, shrimps, lime etc. It is mentionable that

villagers often enter into the protected area in search of fish or honey and are killed or

injured by tigers and they do not get compensation from the Government.

Poverty:

About 44 per cent of the people of Sundarban live below the poverty line (income

- less than Rs 26 a day).Blocks Basanti Sandeshkhali

II

Sandeshkhali

I

Canning

II

Pathatpratima Namkhana Kultali Hingalganj Sagar Jaynagar

II

% of BPL

Households

64.89 59.70 58.29 50.32 49.13 48.17 46.36 44.50 44.46 42.60

Blocks Mathurapur

II

Jaynagar I Minakhan Gosaba Kakdwip Mathurapur

I

Haora Canning I Hasnabad

% of BPL

Households

39.59 39.57 38.42 38.03 34.91 34.43 33.73 31.05 28.69

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Another indicator of poverty is the state of food security. In the 13 Sundarban

blocks of the South 24 Parganas, only about 12.47 per cent people face no shortage of

food: an overwhelming 87 per cent thus have no food security. Close to almost 21 per

cent of the population (more than one person in every five), do not get food even once a

day on a regular basis. In blocks like Basanti, this figure is as high as 37 per cent (or one

in every three).

In terms of housing, only about 30 per cent of the families in almost the whole of

the Sundarbans live in pucca or partially pucca houses. Joynagar is the only exception. In

blocks like Basanti, Gosaba, Canning-II and Patharpratima, this number is not even 10

per cent.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

PERCENTAGE OF BPL HOUSEHOLDS

% o

f H o u s e h o l d s

74

76

78

80

82

84

86

88

90

9294

BLOCK-WISE PERCENTAGE OFPOPULATION HAVING NO FOOD SECURITY

%

Blocks Food

Insecurity

(%)

Basanti 93.46

Canning II 92.40

Sagar 91.03

Namkhana 90.09

Mathurapur I 89.59

Joynagar II 89.2

Patharpratima 88.94

Kultali 88.92

Mathurapur II 86.31

Gosaba 82.48

Canning I 82.37

Kakdwip 81.85Joynagar I 81.13

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Health:

The condition of public health infrastructure of Sundarban is very bad. The

problems range from non-availability

of safe drinking water to poor

sanitation and collapsinginfrastructure. While the lack of

sanitation and drinking water escalate

the risk of health hazards such as

diarrhea, cholera etc. The only source

of drinking water in the islands is

deep tube wells; there is a limited

and rudimentary piped supply system

in the areas connected to the

mainland. The region suffers from an

acute arsenic problem in its

groundwater. Close to 58 per cent of

the habitations have no access to safe

drinking water. The incidence of

diarrhea in the district is alarmingly

high, with 1.27 lakh cases being

treated on an average every year.

Sundarban, in fact, has the poorest

healthcare facilities compared to any

other part of the state of West

Bengal.

According to the Union ministry of

human resource development, the

ideal doctor-patient ratio in the

country is 1:1,000; the national

average ratio is 1:1,722. In Sundarban, some blocks such as Basanti do not have a doctor

for a population of one lakh. Canning has three doctors to serve a population of two lakh,

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

INFANT MORTALTY RATE PER 1000 LIVE BIRTHS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

PERCENTAGE OF MALNUTRITION IN CHILDREN

%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS HAVING ACCESS TO

SAFE DRINKING WATER

%

10



while Gosaba and Patharpratima have a doctor-patient ratio of 1:44,682 and 1: 41,152,

respectively.

One in every three persons in Sundarban does not have any access to institutional

healthcare. As of 2011, there is a

deficit of 62 public health centersacross 13 blocks of Sundarban in the

South 24 Parganas. According to the

norms of Union Ministry of Health

and Family Welfare, there should be

one public health centre for every

20,000 people in remote areas. A

deficit of 62 public health centers

thus, indicates 12.4 lakh people have no access to primary, institutionalized healthcare

across the island.

Apart from a massive capacity limitation, the quality of care in public health

centers is also extremely bad. These

open twice a week for four hours.

Thus, access to institutionalized

healthcare is limited to eight hours a

week. Many of them have no

electricity, safe water, and even

access roads. People, naturally, seem

to depend on quacks and religious

leaders. The difficulties of

transportation in this region act as a crucial deterrent.

Education:

Educational facilities as well as conditions are also very bad in Sundarban. Number of

drop outs is very high because in most of the cases children are forced to join working sectors to

support their family. The head of the families does not want to send their children into schools

because; they think there are no surety of getting jobs after completion of education. The

Number of students having matriculation is also very less here. The number of higher education

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

PUBLIC HEALTH CENTRE PER 3000 POPULATION

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

DOCTOR PATIENT RATIO

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centers is also very low. None of the high schools and colleges in Sundarban teaches any science

subjects

Blocks Upper Primary Drop Out Blocks Households with Education

Beyond Class X

Canning II 57.11 Gosaba 20.70

Kultali 52.95 Mathurapur I 17.64

Mathurapur I 46.86 Canning I 16.60

Basanti 45.61 Joynagar I 16.52

Patharpratima 44.33 Patharpratima 16.26

Kakdwip 43.26 Sagar 15.98

Joynagar II 42.83 Kakdwip 15.82

Mathurapur II 40.64 Namkhana 15.70

Canning I 39.31 Mathurapur II 15.63

Gosaba 35.51 Joynagar II 13.71

Sagar 34.85 Basanti 9.88

Joynagar I 33.85 Kultali 9.02

Namkhana 27.40 Canning II 7.91

because the lack of electricity does not allow laboratories to function. Many blocks do not have

any college or technical institute.

Access to Electricity and Transport and Communication:

Many blocks of Sundarban do not have access to electricity; this is one of the serious

problems of the people. For instance, none of the high schools and colleges in Sundarban

teaches any science subjects because the lack of electricity. Absence of electricity leads tolarge number of cases of snake bites. Even tiger attacks are attributed to unavailability of

street lights. Unavailability of power also affects livelihood options like agriculture and

fisheries. Absence of cold storages is a major constraint for farmers and fisherfolk.

The transport and communication system of Sundarban is in very poor state. This is

one of the primary causes which have made the people of Sundarban marginalized. The

people only depend upon waterways. There are only two road ways, from Kolkata to

Bishnupur via Nula and another is Barasat to Buranhati. The facilities of railways are mainly

confined upto Canning, Diamond Harbour, Lakkhikantapur and Hansabad from Kolkata.

During monsoon, roads become impossible to walk on, boat rides become riskier and

vehicles need to be pushed out of mud-holes every now and then.

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Status of women:

The status of women is not very good here. The rate of crime against them is increasing

day by day. Female literacy and work participation rate are not up to the mark. Early

marriage, dowry system, malnutrition, unsafe deliveries are the major problems among

women.Blocks Crime against women

2005 2006 2007

Canning I and II 98 170 215

Joynagar I and II 60 82 118

Kultali 79 30 105

Basanti 22 52 66

Gosaba 17 14 21

Mathurapur I 28 30 44

Mathurapur II 20 43 34

Kakdwip 51 90 78

Sagar 50 53 86

Namkhana 20 49 46

Patharpratima 35 46 88

Major Findings:

The major findings of this study are as follows:

Sundarban is one of the most underdeveloped regions of the country.

About 44 per cent of the people live below the poverty line.

About 78 per cent of the economy and 85 per cent of workers are dependent on

agriculture – directly or indirectly. The cultivable land per agricultural worker is less than

0.5 ha and about 85 per cent of the farmers are small and marginal. Sundarban is losing

land due to submergence and erosion at a high-speed. In the last 80 years it has lost about

250 sq km. Four islands have been completely wiped out. The rate of land loss is

increasing. Sundarban is also loosing agricultural land to settlement to accommodate

rising population as well as due to land mismanagement and change in land use. Soil

salinity has increased because of sea water ingress and retention, largely due to the

cyclonic activities, thereby reducing the productivity of the agricultural land. Land loss,

soil salinity and land fragmentation have all resulted in reduced agricultural output.

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Fishery and collection of non-timber forest produce supplement the agricultural income,

but both are under tremendous pressure due to over exploitation and climatic changes.

Fish density in shallow waters has reduced and the catches of commercially important

fish have declined.

There are no major industries. Marketing infrastructure for agricultural, fishery and non-timber forest produce sectors is negligible.

Today, the resource base of Sunderban is not able to sustain the lives and livelihood of

people. As a result, the people of Sunderban are migrating to survive.

Majority of households don’t have access to electricity.

About 60 per cent of the households don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water.

87 per cent people live with some sort of food shortage. So, food insecurity is high.

There is a huge deficit in health care infrastructure. The Sundarban will need more

infrastructures such as doctors, public health centers, specialized hospitals etc. About

one-third of the population doesn’t have access to primary health care.

The education system does not provide the options to people to expand livelihood

opportunities. There is just one degree or technical college in per 250 sq km area. The

drop-out rates are very high.

The coverage of institutional banking and insurance facilities in Sundarban is very low.

Only about 10 per cent of the population avail institutional banking and there is no

agricultural insurance.

Finally, Sunderban still lacks disaster warning and disaster shelters. In fact, it lacks a

comprehensive disaster management system.

Suggestions and conclusions:

The people of Sundarban need a long term plan to mitigate their problem and for their

development. Following remedial measures can be taken. First of all, guaranteed job opportunity

and employment generation may upgrade the quality of life of the people. Besides this, definitesupply of safe drinking water, electricity, more health centers with proper medical facilities,

school and colleges having vocational and technical education are needed. Government should

be responsible about the protection of forests, land reclamation, development of transport and

communication system. A new land and embankment policy is urgently required to stop or

reduce the detoriation of quality and quality of land. Awareness programs about controlling

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population and above mentioned suggestions may help to solve the problems of people of

Sundarban. It is mentionable that Sundarban has a very good prospect in terms of tourism,

cultivation of medical plants etc. But it will be possible when Government and NGOs will take

necessary actions.

References:

1. Das C. S. and Pramanik T. K., (2010), “Human Geography”, Mitram, Kolkata.

2. Das G. K., (2005), “Sundarbans: Environments and Ecosystems”, Sharat book

Distributors, Kolkata.

3. Das G. K., (2005), “Sundarbans: Human and Environment”, Sharat book Distributors,

Kolkata.

4.

De R., (1990), “The Sundarbans”, Oxford University Press, Calcutta.5. Mandal A. K. and Ghosh R. K., (1989), “Sundarban – A Socio – Bio – Ecological

Study”, Bookland, Calcutta.

6. Mukherjee K.N., (1983), “History of Settlement in the sundarbans in West Bengal”,

Indian Journal of Landscape System and Ecological Studies, vol.6, Calcutta.

7. “Living with Changing Climate”, (2012), Centers for Sciences and Environment.

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struggle for existence

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