On Saturday, more than 4,000 people from Santigachi village gathered on the banks of the Datta river to witness a boat race that had been discontinued sometime in the late 1990s.
The race was organised by not-for-profit organisation Anandapur Swami Vivekananda Seva Samity, Rotary Visionaries Public School, Santigachi, and the Calcutta-based Deepak Industries Limited.
Santigachi, located around 150km from Calcutta, lies in the Satjelia islands of the Sundarbans. It was named by Scotsman Daniel Hamilton after the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, which followed at the end of World War I. Hamilton arrived in the Sundarbans in 1904, stayed on, and undertook several initiatives to make the
islands habitable.
The boat race ahead of Diwali was one of many initiatives aimed at improving the economic condition of the village. Santigachi is home to around 10,000 people, most of whom depend on the forest for their livelihood.
In recent years, many men from the village have migrated to work as farmhands in Andhra Pradesh. The women and elderly are left to fend for the family. It was not surprising, therefore, that the initiatives announced on Saturday focused largely on women.
“We are encouraging people in the remotest of areas to take up alternative ways of sustainable livelihood,” said Yashwant Kumar Daga, chairman and managing director of Deepak Industries. “The women make many indigenous products, from condiments to handicrafts. Our purpose is to help them produce these in large quantities and earn a living from them,” he said.
Rotary Visionaries has tied up with the NGO Sonarpur Swami Vivekananda Manas Mission to train Santigachi’s women in stitching, handicrafts, flower and vegetable cultivation, and other skills. Three self-help groups have been formed to support training and marketing of these products. From 2023 to 2025, over 350 women have received training. Some have begun selling their craft and produce for a living in the last six months.
The combined effort of all stakeholders is to turn Santigachi into a model village. The plan includes a fishing zone where visitors can taste local fish, a corner showcasing cockfighting, and a local market selling fresh produce. Maneesh Khanna, CFO of Deepak Industries, has assured support for the project through the company’s
CSR initiatives.
This year’s boat race drew an enthusiastic crowd, and organisers now plan to have women participate in the event next year, said Khanna.
For the women of Santigachi, rowing boats is already a part of daily life. Nibedita Haldar, 20, said, “It is not a big deal for us. We often playfully compete among ourselves when we go fishing. Only, the crowds are not there to cheer us,” she said.