A young girl stands against the turbulent Bay of Bengal, her face wearing a tepid expression that juxtaposes the chaos of the roaring waves battering her family's tea stall that she helped run. The haunting scene becomes a poignant symbol of loss and despair caused by a natural calamity. Photographer Supratim Bhattacharjee captured this award-winning image in 2020, featuring Pallavi Parua, an 11-year-old native of the Namkhana Islands in the Sunderbans, who is one of the vulnerable individuals to suffer the devastating impacts of climate change.
Bhattacharjee has won numerous awards for his work tracing the effects of environmental degradation, particularly on the marginalised and Indigenous communities of India. His portfolio boasts a UNICEF Photo of the Year 2021 and the Mangrove Action Project photography award in July 2024.
'Sinking Sunderbans' by Supratim Bhattacharjee
Pallavi's image is part of Bhattacharjee's ongoing photo campaign called 'Sinking Sunderbans', capturing the frequent storms and floods in the Sunderbans. The Indo-Bangladesh region, known for its lush green mangrove forests, has become a victim of numerous disasters as a result of global warming.
The Sunderbans witness a about 4.4 to 6.3 mm rise in sea levels every year, causing increased soil erosion and loss of soil quality resulting in minimised crop yield. The disrupted ecosystem has threatened the livelihood of the region's Indigenous communities like Pallavi's due to food insecurity and displacement.
Bhattacharjee told the Telegraph in an interview, "Fraserganj, where the picture was taken, lacks embankments, making it particularly vulnerable. I arrived early in the morning and witnessed the overwhelming force of the high tides. The residents were frantically trying to save their belongings from the encroaching seawater."
“Among them was 11-year-old Pallavi, whose house, which included a tea shop, had been completely submerged the previous night. Her composed demeanour and resilient expression amid the chaos compelled me to capture her photograph, showcasing her strength in the face of such devastation," the photographer added.
Bhattacharjee noted that between 1973 and 2010, approximately 170 sq km of land, an area equivalent to the size of West Bengal's capital Kolkata, has been submerged in the Sunderbans. Many islands such as Mousuni and Ghoramara are already almost underwater, according to Bhattacharjee.
"I have personally witnessed the drastic transformation of the landscape due to global warming and frequent cyclones. Rising sea levels, driven by global warming, have led to increasingly severe flooding from violent storm surges. Adding to the crisis is the reckless deforestation of mangrove forests," he told the Telegraph.
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