A man catches fish in a pond while his wife stands at the edge, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, India, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit GhoshMay 30, 2024, 10 a.m. GMTFiled: May 30, 2024, 10 a.m. GMT
A man loads his goats into a ferry to transport them to the mainland for sale, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh Pratap Das, 51, a fisherman, casts a fishing net into the Hooghly river on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh
Sukumar Giri collects rice that was laid out for drying, as Sita Rani Giri walks to her house on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit GhoshResearchers say as climate change has forced a rise in sea surface temperatures, seasonal, cyclonic storms barrelling in from the Bay of Bengal have become more fierce and frequent, particularly in the last decade.
Patra lives alone. His wife works as a nursemaid in Kolkata, his two daughters, who are married, and his teacher son live on the mainland. Some Ghoramara residents have planted mangrove saplings to try to reduce waterfront erosion, while the local administration displays notices across the island banning single-use plastic and polystyrene. A solid waste management system has been put in place.
The TMC-run state government recently announced a project, supported by the World Bank, to strengthen the embankments of the islands in Sundarbans. Border Security Force personnel disembark from a ferry as they arrive for election duty during India’s ongoing general election, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 16, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh
Construction workers rebuild Khasimara Nimno Buniyadi School at a new location, after the school’s previous building was swept into a river following erosion in 2021, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh Debasish Paul, 62, a volunteer who works independently on environmental awareness and protection of the island, cleans solar panels on top of a flood shelter on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh
Hotel attendant Ujjwal Patra, 33, sits next to a crack on the floor of his house that he said was caused by Cyclone Yaas, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, India, May 16, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh