Handholding without long-term vision
NICRA's interventions have not taken into account the specifics of ground realities that make villages vulnerable
BONGHERI IS an idyllic village in the South 24 Parganas district of southern West Bengal. It is located in one of India’s most cyclone-prone regions on delta land. Fragmented by innumerable rivulets, which drain into the Bay of Bengal, the village faces two cyclone seasons each year. The northern bay of the Bay of Bengal is shallow and the coast is landlocked on three sides causing a submergence of the entire coast during the cyclonic storms. The vulnerability is palpable. Barely 5 m above sea level, the land is frequently submerged by storm surges and remains highly saline. “The last one was cyclone Aila in 2009. In some areas, the land was waterlogged till 2014 and is still too saline for agriculture. We couldn’t grow anything. Farmers have been migrating in search of livelihood,” says Ratan Mandal, a farmer from Bongheri.
But over the past few years, Bongheri has begun to turnaround. It is now one of the few villages in the region covered with lush, healthy fields throughout the year. The reason: soon after cyclone Aila, Bongheri was chosen under the nicra. “The first thing we did was to treat the land to reduce waterlogging and then ensure supply of freshwater,” says Prabir Ghairat, the programme coordinator with the Nimpith Krishi Vigyan Kendra (kvk) which looks after the project in Bongheri. “Within a year and a half, we were able to grow sunflower and sweet potato and crops that can sustain soil salinity,” says Gauranga Nashkar, the secretary of the village farmers’ club through which the programme has been implemented. Residents have now managed to increase the number of cropping cycles from just one to three every year. Armed with soil health cards, they have reduced fertiliser use by up to 50 per cent by creating vermicompost pits. And with the