East Kolkata Wetlands: Perfect Harmony Between Nature and Mankind

. by Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma

With the growing population and increasing urbanization, the problem of treating the waste of the cities is mounting, especially in the developing economies. Not only does it pose a hazard to the environment, but also affects the health of humans and animals. An interesting contrast to this grim situation is the way the waste water of the Kolkata city is managed.

The eight million population of the city produces 600 million liters of sewage and wastewater and more than 2500 tons of garbage everyday. All this is collected in the eastern part of the city and forms what is called- the East Kolkata Wetlands.

By Ruchi Choudhary

When I went to about to explore how it happens, what I found out was this: in the eastern part of the cultural capital, about five kilometers away from the city, is a small village called Bentola. There is an insignificant rickety bridge, about 500 meters inside the main road. On the other side of the bridge is the small village Chailabi. Very few people seemed to even know the village by name. The bridge has gates to allow the water to pass. Waste water, from the entire city of

Kolkata, is collected here and distributed to numerous ponds nearby. The serenading landscape marked by water bodies and greenery provides livelihood to thousands of village people. These water bodies are mini-fisheries – owned by either governments, or individuals, in some cases even by a cooperative of fisher men.

Sonu and Rakesh, the teenagers who lived just next to the gated rickety bridge, explained to me the process of water distribution by small canals, cleaning of water by limestone, catching of fish in the early morning hours and selling them off in the nearby kanta or market. Their father worked on the bridge, responsible for maintaining the optimum water level.

‘Je amar baba dwarta kholte na, te sampoorna kolkata doobe jabo’ (‘if our father doesn’t open the gates in time [to discharge the waste water], entire Kolkata would drown’), they proudly remarked in Bengali.

While cruising through the narrow and bushy alleys between ponds, we spotted a man transferring water from a canal to his pond. ‘This is my ancestral occupation, my forefathers did it and I don’t know anything else to do. This water is my life. My pond produces about 400 kilograms of fish everyday,’ the man said. We moved to the next lake, even bigger in seize, which is managed by a cooperative. They had boats to fish and about 20 men working on the farm. We saw an elderly person passing by, and could not help notice his disability. He was blind from one eye.

Although in a hurry, he told us, ‘I came from Orissa and my family lives there to whom I send money. I’ve worked at a lot of places but I can make good money here and sustain my family.’ He was a worker in one of the ponds. Besides the numerous

small and large fisheries, which produce about 13,000 tons of fish annually, there are small vegetable gardens in the area, cultivated by the waste water.

Approximately 150 tons of vegetables are supplied from the East Kolkata Wetlands daily. In recent times, the wetlands are posed with a threat of expansion of the city, the increasing deposits of silt in the ponds and increasing pollution. However, both government and private organizations are working towards preserving the site. The location was declared a historic site under the Ramsar Convention of 2002. NGOs like PUBLiC (People United for Better Living in Calcutta) and government organizations like East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (under KEIP- Kolkata Environmental Improvement Project, a subsidiary of Kolkata Municipal Corporation) have undertaken research projects on the wetlands. The East Kolkata Wetalnds are a perfect example of harmony between nature and mankind. It is a mutually beneficial situation for all the parties involved. A lesson can be learnt here on the thoughtful management of resources.