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soil in Gangetic Delta is larger than that of Nile Delta in Egypt. The yield of paddy in the Sundarbans
is higher then the average yield elsewhere in the state. It has been reported on the Census Report of
West Bengal of 1951 that the crop cutting experiments, in that area at that time, indicate 16.6 quintals
per Hectare (18 meter per Acre) by traditional methods. Ninety six percent of cropped area of
Sundarbans is under Aman Paddy (winter paddy) which is practicably the only crop. The small area
on which other crops are grown consists of patches of comparatively high land. The more important
of these other crops are pulses, mainly Khesarit Jute, tobacco and vegetables. A small area is also
under orchards. The problem of Agriculture in this area is intimately connected with the problem of
drainage. The Aman Paddy is transplanted in July and harvested in December, and if the fields are
not fully drained before the harvesting time, there is huge loss of paddy due to the accumulated
water. Due to deterioration of tidal rivers and creeks for cutting spill areas the drainage has become
acute with passing of time, hence in most of the years the production falls below on account of
inadequate drainage facilities. In years of heavy rainfall the damages are more.
There is no scope of surface irrigation as the winter in the adjoining rivers and creeks are saline. A
sweet water stratum is not generally available in underground within a distance of 300m from the
surface. Hence lift Irrigation from underground at reasonable cost is not possible. Thus the area is
single cropped. Unless the area is protected by marginal embankments from saline inundation and
sufficient drainage sluices are constructed there can not be any agriculture.
The people of this region are intelligent and hardworking. They will adopt modern methods of
agriculture and increase their inputs i.e., fertiliser good seeds, pesticides etc. if they are assured of
protection from saline inundation and proper drainage.
2.4.14. Statistics of the Sunderbans (the portion that is in West Bengal)
The following data has been obtained from Jana (2005) which is of importance to this project.
Total area
Location
9630 sq. km.
On the east – River Ichhamati
On the west – River Hooghly
On the north – Dampier-Hodges line
On the south – Bay of Bengal