About two years ago, Rina Sarkar went to catch crabs with her husband when the duo encountered a tiger in the Sundarbans. Rina fainted at its sight. But as she regained consciousness, her husband was no more.
He fell prey to the predator. Now, the woman from Chargheri village in Sundarbans is growing paddy on her husband’s land, and planning to start prawn cultivation to fend for herself.
Rina is not alone. Eighteen other women, whose husbands were mostly mauled by tigers in the mangrove forest, are being assisted by civil society and voluntary organisations to become financially self-reliant by utilising their own assets like land, ponds, or huts.
Members of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Pointers, who have joined hands with Tagore Society for Rural Development and Purbasha Eco Helpline Society, are working for the welfare of tiger widows as part of a three-year project called “Economic Development of Sundarban Widows.” The project, which kicked off last year, covers 19 women in five villages, including Chargheri, Anandapur, Lahiripur, Shantigachi, and Sathjelia.
In 2010, Anima Mondal’s husband was fishing with some villagers when he was also mauled by a tiger. Now, she is growing vegetables and fruits, including potatoes, ginger, and arum. “When I lost my husband, my three children were young, and I ran into acute debts to run the family. Last year, I started farming crops on my land, and I received seeds and some monetary help from the organisation in Kolkata. I am planning to expand the area of my cultivation and will look for help from the organisation,” said Mondal, also a resident of Chargheri village.
Under the project, these tiger widows have been engaged in livelihood activities like cultivation, poultry farming, and fishing.
Aditi Dey, a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Pointers, told TOI: “This is the second year of our pilot project in the Sundarbans. We support the beneficiaries of the project with seeds for farming, chicks, and spawns. With the help of a new earning route, we hope these women don’t have to move deep into the forest for livelihood.” “The on-ground local supervisor keeps us updated with GPS-tracked pictures and monthly reports. We also support a pre-school in Sundarbans and are planning to hold health camps for these women in the future,” said Dey.