‘As if the lockdown was not enough to cripple us...’
The nationwide lockdown had already crippled Gopal Mondol, 55, even before Cyclone Amphan hit. Every year, in April and May, he would enter the tiger-infested mangrove forest of the Sunderbans to collect honey. But this time, the forest authorities did not issue any permit. “As if the lockdown was not enough to cripple us, now we have been hit by the cyclone. We have lost almost everything. Our house is gone,” Mondol said.
Mondol said his father, two brothers and cousins were killed by tigers. Yet he continues to enter the forest to collect honey and beeswax from the hives of wild bees, as it is a lucrative business. “My family and I had to take shelter in a local school building along with dozens of other villagers. The cyclone has devastated our village. Saline water has gushed into the villages. Ponds and croplands have all been destroyed. We don’t know what to do,” Mondol said.
Mondol’s son works in Bengaluru as labourer. His grandson and daughter-inlaw live with Mondol. The nine-year-old studies in a village school.
“During the lockdown, we were getting some help from the government in the form of rice, dal and potatoes. But that was not enough. We hardly have any money left. My son is not able to send any money either as he has no work there,” Mondol lamented. JOYDEEP THAKUR