India in Bangladesh in India in Bangladesh -- life for the people in the enclaves, remnants of forgotten Mughal treaties, hangs between a bloody border and a hungry river
All the drinking water in the world will fit in a cube that can sit over the city of Bangalore. And in this industrial age, everyone wants a share of aquifers, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Voices get shriller and stakes rise ever higher should a river cross international boundaries. Add to all this, the unpredictability of weather patterns in the age of climate change.
On the freshwater trail, I will follow the changing fortunes of people and species in the anthropocene era
In this industrial age, everyone wants a share of aquifers, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. On the Freshwater Trail, I follow the changing fortunes of riverine communities and species
A dirty coal-fired plant, a ship-breaking yard, petroleum reservoirs, and toxic shipping traffic gravely threaten the Sundarbans, the frontline of Bangladesh's defense against climate change
The Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna empty into the Bay of Bengal, making this large active delta. The ecosystem survives on the delicate balance of freshwater and brine
The murky matter of an oil spill in the largest unbroken stand of mangroves in the world and the murkier cover-up. A story from the Sundarbans in Bangladesh
Almost four million people depend upon the Sundarbans delta in Bangladesh and almost a million live and/or work within the forest -- fisherfolk crab-catchers, honey collectors, shrimp-fishers, among others
A Fab Read !! Surprising to kno that the 2 nations share the 5th longest Land Boundary in the world – 4,800+ Kms !! … Also happens to be the 2 nations with the most number of separate border fragments – 199 separate borders … thanx to 80odd portions of B’desh inside India and 100+ portions of india inside B’desh … With a few further inside each other as mentioned in the article … What a ROYAL Mess !!!! Pity the people in those parts tho .. Nobodys world in No man’s land !
Thanks for your comment, Arun. Whether the mess (and it is a humanitarian disaster) will be resolved with the LBA remains to be seen. As with everything “land,” things get more complicated than a simple swap.
the beginning of the article is hopeful but looses the plot completely once the reader realises that you are peddling a story that backdates to last year actually, but just packaged to make it seem relevant. if this is really about taking issues and talking about it in depth, you should be out there travelling to the very same enclaves and giving us all a picture of how things are panning out than mixing it up with dated stuff like this. disappointed.
Hi Seema,
To your comment that this has been “packaged to seem” a certain way, please note that the date of my reporting has been clearly flagged. Every piece has an intent. This is a background story and set in context. The reason it is relevant even today is because this is an enclave whose status will not change nor will erosion improve simply because the Land Boundary Agreement has been signed (as stated in the latter part of the article). The way stories in Peepli work, reportage is ongoing. I will be going back to the same places several times to report on changes. You will see updates. Thanks for your comment. Arati
thanks arati. Looking forward to the updates