In fringes of Bengal’s Jangal Mahals, climate change brings silent displacement & loss of human lives, biodiversity

Travelling over a hundred villages in the scorching heat of 40 degrees, a group of environment enthusiasts encountered the daily struggles of those trying living with the consequences of climate change in the Jungle Mahals of West Bengal. Among the most glaring observations and narratives were both new and old ones — and all remain unaddressed by political parties. 

The journey, Pran Prakriti Yatra, was organised by Prakriti Bachao Adivasi Bachao Maanch and commenced on June 8, well after the election frenzy and World Environment Day celebrations. 

The primary aim was twofold: To hear and understand people living at the margins battling climate crisis and to spread awareness about the present legal situation regarding the environment. This involved discussing the Forest Rights Act and its institutional base of the Gram Sabha, as well as the recent amendments to the Forest Conservation Act.

In most villages visited, the communities comprised Adivasis, with Santhals, Mundas and Muras (Bhumij) being the most prominent. Among the non-Adivasis, Mahato and Lohar castes were common. The dependence and intimacy with forests were evident as people gathered under trees for discussions. An old man remarked, “eitai amader AC” (this is our air conditioner).

The yatra started in Jhargram’s Jitoshul village (Jhinkia), infamous for the Reshmi Sponge Iron and Reshmi Cement factories nearby. The factories pollutes the air, water and soil. Despite numerous protests, the waste management system hasn’t improved and illegal land takeovers have increased, often in collusion with the administration. The effects of this factory were noticeable over 20 kilometres away.

The people of the region reported increased elephant raids due to forest destruction, with three people losing their lives to elephants in the previous month alone. In all the villages visited in Jhargram, people voiced grievances about increased elephant encounters, which they attributed to the continuous destruction of the Dalma range in Jharkhand, a thriving natural habitat for elephants. 

In the Ajodhya Hills of Purulia, villagers spoke of elephants with less desperation. In Kalha village, a person shared, “hain ora pray roj ashe kintu beshi kichu kore na, ekhan theke chole jai” (elephants visit almost every day but simply stroll through without causing much harm). This behavioural change over a few hundred kilometres was attributed to the presence and absence of jungles.

People criticised unplanned programmes by the forest department, like eucalyptus and shonajhuri plantations. These water-intensive species provide no everyday amenities to locals or their livestock. Locals pointed out that nothing else grew in the Shonajhuri patch. The sight of dried-up streams and canals was upsetting but not shocking, and could not be attributed solely to climate change.

Global debates on rising temperatures and limiting it to 1.5 degrees Celsius take on a different meaning for those toiling in open fields. Many complained they could not perform daily activities like fetching water and firewood. Almost every second household reported family members falling sick.

At the villages and haats (fairs) where the yatris stopped, they noticed that barely anyone knew about the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006. The yatris explained the law’s significance and its application in other forested areas. West Bengal is among the last three states to implement the Act.

The yatris discussed the idea of forming 'prakriti seva dal' in each village where they will work to save nature as a whole, to stop forest fires, to better manage community forests, to restore small streams and afforestation drives by the communities.

Insurmountable losses

In Mukutmanipur dam, a famous tourist spot, people from 50 moujas (hamlets) were displaced overnight without rehabilitation. Their voices were drowned by loud music from tourist lodges.

At Murguma dam, locals shared that canal water bypasses them to reach Jhalda. They feel nothing can compensate for their lost land. They warn those from Ajodhya Hills to continue their struggle against the upcoming Turga Pumped Storage Power project. 

Ajodhya Hills are a major source of rivers and streams, providing water to thousands at the margins. Kangsabati and Subernarekha are two such rivers.

During discussions on water, people were clear about the problems and solutions but couldn't understand why those in power didn't see it. Dams, canals and irrigation facilities were secondary, they said. The main source of water was jungles, not infrastructure. The yatris saw empty dams and dysfunctional tubewells.

With the onset of the agricultural cycle, farmers follow rituals like Rohin and Ambavati. Rohin, performed by Adivasis and non-Adivasis around late May and early June, marks the planting season's start. Rain usually accompanies this ritual, but this year it was delayed by a month, leaving people dismayed. Ambavati is a time when the earth and people rest. A dry spell followed the Ambavati ritual, seen as a curse in many villages. 

Potka (a type of mushroom) usually appears after Rohin, but the forest was devoid of it this year. Elderly people mourned missing forest produce, like the piyal fruit, once abundant. This year, the kendu tree’s fruit also did not appear, leading to fears of a similar fate. These losses not only affect biodiversity and indigenous knowledge but also nutritional intake for families already bordering on under-nutrition.

The yatris had not specifically raised funds for food or lodging. They divided into smaller groups to stay in villagers' and old-time activists' homes, village schools and community centres. They asked for a fistful of rice from each household supporting them on the environmental crisis. They survived on this and were left with 2 quintals of rice at the end of the yatra.

The yatra concluded with Hul Diwas at Ajodhya Hills on June 30, commemorating the 1855 rebellion against the British. Hundreds of Adivasis remembered heroes Sidho, Kanho, Chand, Bhairav Murmu and sisters Phulo and Jhano. 

Yatris shared with the locals what they had heard along the journey. More than once, the crowd echoed their readiness for another Hul to save their nature and lives if needed.

Mrinalini Paul is a research scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences Public university in Mumbai, Maharashtra and volunteer with the RIght to Food and Work Campaign, West Bengal. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.