ATANU RAHA, director, Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve, and additional principal chief conservator of forests, met readers of The Telegraph in his office on Thursday to answer their queries. Participants included Sourish Misra, Sonatan Mondol, Subhadyuti Datta, Sandeep Banerjee, Kajal Ghosh, Baidyanath Sen, R.K.Gupta, Sanjit Das and Rathin Naskar

Kajal Ghosh: I toured the Sunderbans last month. The long boat journey became tedious due to lack of vision of the tourism department. The sareng told me that all the deltas and creeks of the Sunderbans have names. Why don?t you put up display boards with the names? There won?t be a dearth of sponsors for such a venture.

It is a good suggestion and we have been thinking along the same lines. The boards will be put up by the time you visit the area again. They would be large enough to be read by tourists from launches. We will also mention on the boards whether there are tigers in the area or not.

Baidyanath Sen: During a recent visit to the Sunderbans, I found that many operators had illegally turned their vessels into makeshift double-storeyed structures. This might cause fatal accidents.

The forest department does not grant licences to launches and mechanised boats plying in the area. The inland waterways directorate, irrigation department and the transport department are supposed to monitor them. The forest department only registers the vessels that enter the estuaries within its jurisdiction.

Subhadyuti Datta: Why isn?t Sunderbans honey readily available in the market? Shopkeepers are claiming that your department has stopped marketing the honey.

The honey, after purification, is marketed by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation. It is the cheapest and the purest honey in the market. Since the commission and other fringe benefits offered to the sellers is less than that offered by other brands, the shopkeepers are reluctant to stock our products.

Sonatan Mondol: A section of the mechanised boat operators in Canning and Gosaba are using second-hand two-stroke engines of two-wheelers, causing sound pollution and oil spill in the Sunderbans.

These types of boats generally ply in the non-forest areas of the Sunderbans. The irrigation and inland water transport department can take action against the operators.

Subhadyuti Datta: The Sundari tree has given the Sunderbans its name, but their number is dwindling. Is it due to illegal felling?

Illegal felling of trees has been controlled to a great extent. The number of Sundari trees is decreasing due to increased salinity of the estuarine water. Compared to other mangrove trees, Sundari is less tolerant to saline water.

Rathin Naskar: Why is the salinity of estuarine waters on the rise? Is it due to pollution?

It is not due to pollution. In the 16th century, following a tectonic tilt in the south-western part of undivided Bengal, the Sunderbans area was elevated, while the south-eastern part of the region, now in Bangladesh, subsided. This resulted in the flow of sweet water from the upstream through the eastern part of the Sunderbans.

The volume of saline water entering the estuaries during high tide has remained the same, but the quantity of sweet water flowing into the Sunderbans from upstream has decreased. Hence, the salinity of water in the Sunderbans has increased as a whole.

R.K. Gupta: The bird population in Pakhiralay has dwindled and green coconuts in the area are developing dry patches on their shells due to increased use of cell phones by tourists. What action are you taking?

The question of taking action does not arise. On what basis are you claiming that the bird population has decreased at Pakhiralay and cell phones are responsible for dry patches on green coconuts?

To be continued