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Global warming may result in low-lying coastal areas, including the Sunderbans, getting submerged eventually. But at another level, a natural
source like sunlight is changing the life of millions of people in the islands, finds
Ranjita Biswas
Like the two faces of Janus, the Sunderbans projects two sides- something negative, something positive. The deltaic region straddling India’s West Bengal and Bangladesh where the great rivers of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna converge, has been much in the news lately for showcasing the disastrous consequences of global warming as two islands, Suparibhanga and Lohacharra, were submerged by rising sea water. But it is also where instances of environmentally-friendly practices like using non-fossil energy to light up homes are making a difference to people’s lives and setting examples for others to replicate. An immense archipelago of islands, Amitav Ghosh’s land of The Hungry Tide, the Sunderbans is a fascinating place, where mangrove forests, crocodiles and snakes, man-eating tigers and resilient men, have been co-existing for centuries. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. But scientists at the School of Oceanography Studies at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, warn that rising sea level due to global warming and depletion of mangrove forests that act as a natural buffer against cyclones and rising water, may see more islands going under water and will displace thousands of people as many of these are densely inhabited. Yet, as if to counterpoint this gloomy picture, hope floats for thousands of people in these islands as they see light, quite literally, coming to their homes. For many villages in the Sunderbans, life has not been the same since 1996 when electricity reached the Sagar Island with a population of 200,000 by drawing power from the good old Sun, i.e. through solar energy. Today, pilgrims to the annual Gangasagar mela at Kapil Munir Ashram in the Sagar Island cannot relate to the older generation’s tales of how they spent the bone-chilling January nights under the lengthening shadows of the kerosene lamps. At the helm of this change is the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) which has been working indefatigably to provide clean energy to these poor areas and shunning fossil-fuel that contributes much to the global warming process. Today, 64,000 families get solar energy here, the highest number in the country. Four percent of the off-grid power generated in the country for isolated places are in the Sundarbans, informs S. P. Gon Chaudhuri, director, WBREDA. Each plant has its own mini-grid system that distributes electricity to the surrounding villages. The grids are switched on for six hours from 6 pm to midnight, and are managed by cooperative societies formed by the villagers that use the power. Other sources of power from nature’s bounty are being explored too for the Sunderbans. WBREDA will implement a tidal wave energy project, the first of its kind in the country, at Gosaba island. The 100-mega watt pilot project costing Rs 40-crore will benefit about 10,000 families in the`A0area. Another innovative effort is the wind and diesel hybrid power, an Indo-Canadian joint project at Sagar, "What is unique about this project is that the two sources of the power generation are used in such a way that as soon as the wind force is reduced, it switches over to the other," says the director. The electrification has brought a marked change in the lifestyle of the island population. Students can now do homework in the evening; people can relax watching TV programmes after a hard day’s work; small businesses have opened up. One of the most common problems in this area is snake-bite death. According to a study made by Kolkata- based Indian Statistical Institute, snake bite in areas with electricity has gone down by 40 per cent, informs Gon Chaudhuri. "There’s a reason too. Snakes, like most animals, are afraid of artificial light. Today when a person can guess of lurking reptiles in the vicinity by its hissing sound, he just has to reach out to the switch. Formerly they had to wait to light a lamp and maybe often it’s too late." Solar street lights have also helped since people can see the snakes crossing the roads. Two hospitals on the island now have a 24-hour supply of energy. One has its own solar plant, while the other is connected to a mini-grid, with diesel generators providing power during the hours when the grid is switched off. The way renewable energy is making a difference to the islands at the Sunderbans has been a subject for research students from home and abroad, as far as the US, Denmark, Germany etc. People in the Sunderbans say that land-people spoil the atmosphere with their style of living, their carbon-fuming cars, etc. but "We’re using clean energy. Yet we will suffer if water rises," Fodder for thought, indeed. — TWF
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