Large stretches of land in Mousuni have been swallowed by the sea
Such experiences are nowhere more stark than on islands in South 24 Parganas such as Mousuni and Ghoramara. The island was spread across around 7.2 sq km in 1972. By 2022, it had shrunk to about 3.6 sq km — half its landmass disappearing into surging seawater in five decades. Researchers estimate that if the trend persists, only around 2.6 sq km may remain by 2032. From around 256 sq km in 1922, it has shrunk to around 230 sq km. Majed Shah, 55, once owned two bighas in Mousuni. He and his family now stay with a relative in Fraserganj in South 24 Parganas. Farmers Gobinda Karak and Tapas Karak from Ghoramara, another island in South 24 Parganas, are among those displaced by the rising sea level and the consequent loss of their agricultural land. Md Taher Ali, 71, a resident of Sahabattola in Malda’s Manikchak, has been uprooted thrice — in 1966, 1994 and 1997. I am glad Census 2027 is recognising the reason (for the change of address),” said Ali, a retired railway employee.
Because of erosion, “I had to relocate. Coastal geomorphologist Sunando Bandyopadhyay of Calcutta University, who studies erosion and climate change, said Sagar Island, too, has lost substantial land to the sea over the decades. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
For the first time in decades, India’s population Census is preparing to give such journeys a distinct place in its migration data by recording “natural calamities” as a reason for migration — potentially offering a clearer official picture of people displaced by erosion, floods, cyclones and other disasters. Census officials said this familiarity could help families speak more freely about sensitive experiences involving loss of homes, land and livelihoods. The 40-question population enumeration schedule lists natural calamities — alongside employment, business, education, marriage, movement after birth, movement with household and “any other” — as a reason for migration. “Each year, some of us lose our homes as the sea relentlessly gnaws at the island,” Shah said, adding that another major surge could swallow whatever remained of Mousuni. But in current Census, I want to be counted as a resident of Fraserganj,” he said. Census officials, however, said the data collated under the category “natural calamities” should not be treated as a direct measure of climate change-induced migration.
Kolkata: For a family living in the Sundarbans or along a river in Malda, leaving home may not always be a choice dictated by a job, marriage or better prospects in a city. Sometimes, the house is swallowed by a river, farmland turns saline or a cyclone leaves little behind to return to. In ecologically fragile areas, enumerators for the ongoing Census have been drawn from local communities who know the terrain, dialects and history of disasters that have displaced residents. Cyclones, tidal surges and erosions have steadily eaten into homes and farmland on those islands, forcing families to shift to the mainland. Ghoramara perhaps offers the starkest illustration. For families affected by the steady loss of land, migration is often not about opportunity but survival. The new Census classification could make such journeys easier to identify in official statistics. Over the years, the sea reduced it to a tiny patch, which eventually disappeared after a cyclone. “My official documents are still in Mousuni. Gobinda moved his family towards Kakdwip, while Tapas, who works as a labourer in Thakurpukur, sent his to a relative’s home in Namkhana . The same cycle plays out along the Ganga in Malda, where entire settlements have disappeared with the river constantly changing course. The migration data could nevertheless offer researchers and policymakers a clearer window into disaster-linked displacement — particularly whether temporary movement eventually turns into permanent relocation. Download the TOI App.