Almost two months after Cyclone Aila battered the Sunderbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, there is another disaster waiting to happen. Lakhs of villagers are now living in several hamlets of the delta without a roof on their heads, having pitched their tents on the breached dikes.

Apart from the topography that makes life tough for the villagers, the lackadaisical attitude of the state government is making the situation worse for the villagers. Even after two months since the devastating cyclone struck, they are yet to get the money promised by the government to rebuild their homes.

Sporadic monsoon rains with storm and tidal waves every fortnight have become the norm in the delta. The Express team, on a visit to the hamlets of Gosaba, found that the fragile dikes on which the villagers have pitched their tents have started giving way after tidal waves started from Monday. As things stand, with a little storm and a strong tidal wave the dikes can collapse any time.

“We are living in a hellish condition. We cannot even sleep at night lest strong tidal waves lash the place and we get washed away. We heard that the state government will give us money for rehabilitation but we are yet to get it even after two months since Aila struck. It seems that the state government does not even consider us as human beings and have left us to die in this wretched condition,” said Prasanta Pradhan, a resident of Sonagaon in Gosaba.

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