The social, environmental and economic destruction that results from the plunder of land in Bangladesh by the shrimp industry is pitiful.

May 26, 2009 was the darkest day for people living in the Darjeeling hills. Cyclone Aila struck with fury. Around 27 people died and hundreds were left homeless. Landslides ripped homes, electricity connections snapped and roads were left in tatters.

A special report on "Aila", the cyclone that struck on May 25. Now, with 400 km-long embankment breached, people of Sunderbans live with threat of a high tide causing further damage. It calls for a long-term policy on behalf of the islanders for saving the Sunderbans.

See Also

Report: Boiling point - containing the 'spill over' of climate change

Sunderbans expert Tushar Kanjilal said the destruction was severe because Aila had hit during the high tide.

function aila() { newwd=window.open("dte_slideshow/20090630_aila(DTE)/20090630_aila(DTE).htm","","height=600,width=600,scrollbar=yes"); newwd.moveTo(200,75); } Cyclone Aila struck on Monday, May 25. The warning came a day earlier, but the administration chose to snooze. It did not contact villagers. Now, with the 400 km-long embankment breached, people of the Sunderbans