Ghoramara_Island
Ghoramara Island
Island in West Bengal, India
Ghoramara Island is an island 92 km south of Kolkata, India in the Sundarban Delta complex of the Bay of Bengal. The island is small, roughly five square kilometers in area, and is quickly disappearing due to erosion and sea level rise.[1]
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bay of Bengal |
| Archipelago | Sundarbans |
| Administration | |
India | |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | South 24 Parganas |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 3000 |
Global warming has caused the rivers that pour down from the Himalayas and empty into the Bay of Bengal to swell and shift in recent decades, placing these islands, known as the Sundarbans, in danger. Four islands are completely underwater, and another 10 in the area are at risk.[1]
A 2007 study by Jadavpur University concluded that roughly 31 square miles (80 km2) of the Sundarbans had disappeared during the preceding 30 years, and that Ghoramara had shrunk to less than five square miles (thirteen square kilometres), about half its size in 1969: this loss of land had caused the displacement of more than 600 families.[2]
Ghoramara island once had a population of 40,000.[3] The 2001 Government of India census showed a population of 5,000 on Ghoramara; this population is believed to have shrunk as families are displaced by the island's sinking and many families are migrating in search of better livelihood.[4] As of 2016 the island has 3,000 residents.[3]
- George, Nirmala (March 24, 2010). "Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea". USA Today.
- Sengupta, Somini (April 10, 2007). "India's river Delta islands washing away". New York Times.
- Shapiro, Ari (May 20, 2016). "Rising Tides Force Thousands To Leave Islands Of Eastern India". NPR. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
- Singh, Shiv Sahay (2019-11-23). "Hungry tides of the Sundarbans: How the rising seas create environmental migrants". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
- Satellite view from Google images
- International Herald Tribune article
- Morphological changes of Ghoramara Island: a documentation. Indian Journal of Geography and Environment. Vol.2, p. 64-65, 1997.
- Destruction and Agony in Ghoramara Island. Paper accepted to present in the 22nd Conference of Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG) and IGU Commission meeting on Land Degradation and Desertification, January 9-1, 2001.