Island evacuation starts in Sunderbans

Kolkata: The South 24 Parganas district administration on Tuesday began evacuating villagers from Mousuni and Ghoramara, a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked officials to shift to safety 20,000-plus villagers inhabiting these islands, which were devastated by Cyclone Yaas less than a fortnight ago and are now bracing for another crisis later this week.While the new moon high tide will surge around June 11, the spring tide — during which the water level in the sea and rivers rises at least a metre higher than the usual high tide — is expected to hit the coastal belt on June 26. CM Banerjee had on Monday apprehended that with the embankment breaches still not fully repaired, the two tides coupled with a possible low-pressure formation might amplify the damages in the already-battered Sunderbans.“We have already evacuated 2,000-odd villagers from Ghoramara to Bamunkhali in Sagar. More people will be evacuated from Mousuni over the next two days. They will stay at a flood centre and schools. We will hold an emergency meeting with the state irrigation department and district officials to finalise the full evacuation plan and ensure minimum damage during upcoming events,” state Sunderbans development minister Bankim Hazra said.With vast swathes of Mousuni and Ghoramara islands still underwater, around 6,000 people are living in cyclone shelters since they were shifted there before Cyclone Yaas. “Those who have returned home will once again be taken to the shelters and other concrete houses. We will follow the same protocol and the same degree of alertness that we had shown prior to Yaas,” Namkhana BDO Santanu Singha Thakur said.Officials said while work was going on in full swing to repair embankments around the Sunderbans, a 7.5km stretch of embankment at Mousuni and Sagar could not be repaired in such a short time. Hence, the need for evacuation. Embankments made by “simple piling and sand filling” wouldn’t be enough to stop tidal waves in these areas and concrete structures will take time, officials explained.“We have already started shifting machinery and relief items to the islands to ensure availability of adequate resources even if the high tide snaps communication. Civil defence personnel have been deployed for rescue operations and an NDRF team is permanently posted in Kakdweep for the entire monsoon,” said a senior district official.