The screen came to life with a bearded middle-aged man named Lalmohan Sheikh aboard a boat pointing to the horizon and saying: “There used to a church over there during my childhood but the hungry river gobbled it up.”

This was the opening scene of a documentary film produced by a non-governmental organisation that was premiered here in 24 Parganas district recently.

Launched in the presence of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the documentary, “Mean Sea Level”, depicts the threat of erosion the island faces in the wake of rising water levels and the perilous effects of the phenomenon on the island-dwellers.

The island, located in the Sundarban delta near the mouth of the Hooghly, has lost half its landmass over the past 25 years to the river, leaving about 7,000 people displaced. It is gradually facing the same fate as the neighbouring Lohachara island that got eroded completely as the water level rose.

...   more »