More than 700 students of schools, colleges and universities gathered to participate in a ‘Youth Conclave on Climate Action’ organised by UNICEF to sensitise young people who would face the worst effects of climate change.
The programme, held last Saturday, began with the first public screening of the documentary film ‘Code Red Sunderbans’ by acclaimed filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay. Promotion of saline-tolerant crop farming, use of green energy, mangrove plantation, care for family members of migrant workers, volunteering to build awareness about climate change were some of the suggestions of children and youth to safeguard the lives of people living in Sunderbans at the conclave organised by UNICEF.
In a brief interaction after the film screening, the young people shared their views about the impact of cyclones they experienced or learnt about. Students from Sunderbans told the audience that following several cyclones and sea surges, the soil there has turned saline and the production of paddy and other vegetables has gone down considerably.
“Let us cultivate some varieties of paddy which can tolerate this increasing salinity. It may not happen overnight, but it would be possible with the help of the government, I believe,” said Titiksha Mandal, a class-X student of Vivekananda Shiksha Niketan of South 24-Parganas district.
She also described how panic and uncertainty grip the minds of her family members in the advent of any cyclone or storm. “I believe this happens with every island dweller. I witnessed people, lying side by side on the earthen embankments, hugging bundles of hay in between them and protecting the dyke from being washed out during the last storm surge,” she said, urging the audience, drawn primarily from Kolkata, to come forward and help them in protecting their lives.
Acknowledging the concerns over effects of climate change, state disaster management and civil defence minister, Javed Khan, said; “The state government has been carrying out various developmental activities and formulating a master plan to alleviate the suffering of the islanders. For speedy shifting of patients to hospitals, ambulances on speedboats are being posted in several points on the Sundarbans islands.”
Notably, UNICEF has been working with the state government and youth to initiate a climate change mitigation movement. Urging the youth to participate with their ideas on the issue of climate change, UNICEF chief of West Bengal, Dr Monjur Hossain, said: “Lowering the effects of climate change is no longer limited within the realm of scientists. It has become a responsibility of every person in every section of the society. Young people are the change agents of society and we want them to come up with their ideas to address this issue.”