Promotion of saline-tolerant crop farming, use of green energy, mangrove plantation, care for family members of migrant workers, volunteering to build awareness about climate change were some of the suggestions of children and youth to safeguard the lives of people living in Sunderbans at a conclave organised by UNICEF.
More than 700 students of schools, colleges and universities gathered here to participate in a ‘Youth Conclave on Climate Action’ organised last evening by UNICEF to sensitise young people who would face the worst effects of climate change. The programme began with the first public screening of the documentary film ‘Code Red Sunderbans’ by acclaimed filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay.
In a brief interaction after the film screening, the young people shared their views about the impact of cyclones they experienced or learnt about.
Students from Sunderbans told the audience that following several cyclones and sea surges, the soil there has turned saline and the production of paddy and other vegetables has gone down considerably.
“Let us cultivate some varieties of paddy which can tolerate this increasing salinity. It may not happen overnight, but it would be possible with the help of the government, I believe,” said Titiksha Mandal, a class-X student of Vivekananda Shiksha Niketan of South 24-Parganas district.
She also described how panic and uncertainty grip the minds of her family members in the advent of any cyclone or storm. “I believe this happens with every island dweller. I witnessed people, lying side by side on the earthen embankments, hugging bundles of hay in between them and protecting the dyke from being washed out during the last storm surge,” she said, urging the audience drawn primarily from Kolkata to come forward and help them in protecting their lives.
Acknowledging the concerns, West Bengal Disaster Management and Civil Defence Minister Javed Khan told the youth, “The state government has been carrying out various developmental activities and formulating a masterplan to alleviate the suffering of the islanders. For speedy shifting of patients to hospitals, ambulances on speedboats are being posted in several points on the Sunderban islands.”
UNICEF has been working with the state government and youth to initiate a climate change mitigation movement. “Lowering the effects of climate change is no longer limited within the realm of scientists. It has become a responsibility of every person in every section of the society. Young people are the change agents of the society and we want them to come up with their ideas to address this issue,” Chief of West Bengal Dr Monjur Hossain said when addressing the students.
The students from city-based colleges and universities admitted that the effects of climate change are not limited to Sunderbans or coastal areas only.
“It is hitting cities like Kolkata and other areas of West Bengal. The torrential rainfalls over a brief period of time and waterlogging like the one that happened last year before Durga Puja are results of climate change,” Shovan Das, a college student, said.
“Every storm forces people of Sunderbans to migrate and work as wage labourers or tailors at the locality I live. From today, I shall take active initiative to interact with these people and understand the vulnerabilities they face back home,” said Ananya, a student of Jadavpur University, who lives in the southern fringes of Kolkata where people migrating from Sunderbans settle after natural disasters.
Other college students stressed on building awareness among the people and volunteering using various online platforms and use of green energy. “As a youth the least we can do is create awareness. We must start living a sustainable life through the use of green energy by installing solar panels in institutions and colleges,” Ankita Karmakar, a student of Deshbandhu College for Girls’, said.
