Marcin Szczepanski

Bangladesh: A Country Underwater
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Prosanto Kumar Mondal exaggerates his facial expressions to make a point of how much more saline the water in Kapotaksma River has become in recent decades. Because of the high saline levels, the soil which gets flooded by the river is no longer able to produce rice, a staple of Bengali diet. Prosanto is a relative and neighbor of Prodip Mondal, who lost almost all of his land when the Kapotaksma River expended in 2009 during the Cyclone Aila.

In 2009, during Cyclone .. , Kapotaksma River overcame embarkments and flooded the area. Local families were forced to abandon their houses and stayed for 3 weeks in makeshift shelters on what was left from the embarkments. When the brackish water finally receded, Prodip realized that he lost almost all of his fields. The river expended and permanently shifted its boundaries, swallowing 40 acres of Prodip's land. "I can now fish where my fields used to be," says sarcastically Prodip, gesturing to the vast body of water in front of the embarkment.

This land has supported his family for three generations and after the cyclone, Prodip needed to find new ways to make a living and feed his family. He now plays music in a Hindu temple and migrates periodically to India to make money as a musician there.



Gabbunia village in Uttar Bedkashi Union during the rainy season.

Local farms are protected from flooding by embarkments made mostly from clay-like soil that is prevalent in the area. Yet, locals live in a constant fear of cyclones that periodically form in this coastal area and destroy the embarkments. Climate change-related warming of oceans and increasingly unpredictable and violent weather continues to push saline water further inland sometimes also polluting local supplies of drinking water. Some locals walk 2 miles to the nearest well with drinkable water, a task that takes at least an hour a day.

Koyra Upazila (administrative area of Koyra) in Southwest Bangladesh is located on the edge of Sundarbans Nationa

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Prosanto Kumar Mondal exaggerates his facial expressions to make a point of how much more saline the water in Kapotaksma River has become in recent decades. Because of the high saline levels, the soil which gets flooded by the river is no longer able to produce rice, a staple of Bengali diet. Prosanto is a relative and neighbor of Prodip Mondal, who lost almost all of his land when the Kapotaksma River expended in 2009 during the Cyclone Aila. <br /> <br /> In 2009, during Cyclone .. , Kapotaksma River overcame embarkments and flooded the area. Local families were forced to abandon their houses and stayed for 3 weeks in makeshift shelters on what was left from the embarkments. When the brackish water finally receded, Prodip realized that he lost almost all of his fields. The river expended and permanently shifted its boundaries, swallowing 40 acres of Prodip's land. "I can now fish where my fields used to be," says sarcastically Prodip, gesturing to the vast body of water in front of the embarkment. <br /> <br /> This land has supported his family for three generations and after the cyclone, Prodip needed to find new ways to make a living and feed his family. He now plays music in a Hindu temple and migrates periodically to India to make money as a musician there. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Gabbunia village in Uttar Bedkashi Union during the rainy season. <br /> <br /> Local farms are protected from flooding by embarkments made mostly from clay-like soil that is prevalent in the area. Yet, locals live in a constant fear of cyclones that periodically form in this coastal area and destroy the embarkments. Climate change-related warming of oceans and increasingly unpredictable and violent weather continues to push saline water further inland sometimes also polluting local supplies of drinking water. Some locals walk 2 miles to the nearest well with drinkable water, a task that takes at least an hour a day. <br /> <br /> Koyra Upazila (administrative area of Koyra) in Southwest Bangladesh is located on the edge of Sundarbans Nationa