Six days after Cyclone Aila hit the state, relief for the inhabitants of the affected villages in Sunderbans is still a far cry, claim environmentalists who visited parts of the region.

According to a group that returned on Friday night, almost 19 blocks in Sunderbans have been severely affected. Many in these blocks are still without a cover overhead and the approaching monsoon may make the situation worse, they said. “While the village of Mathurakhand in the Sunderban Tiger Reserve has been destroyed, the entire village of Sonagaon in Gosaba block has been inundated. Cows, pigs, goats and even humans are living under the open sky on the embankments and on whatever is left of it. Stagnant storm water in the villages have contaminated most of the drinking water sources and threatens enteric diseases. Grossly inadequate medical infrastructure has added to the misery,” said Ajanta Dey, a spokesperson for Nature Environment and Widlife Society, an NGO that is working at the spot.

“Several NGOs have taken relief, but that was grossly inadequate considering the demand. we still need medicines, dry food and water in much larger quantity,” said Md Wahid of Southern Health Improvement Samity, another NGO. Experts feel the work on embankments should be completed within a few days. The day the cyclone struck, which was on May 25, there was lunar eclipse, which will again reappear on June 7. Thus it is feared that the water will start rising once again from June 4, which might go as high as 10 feet which could be a setback to the restoration work. Mohana Dam