KOLKATA: The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has stepped in to stem the erosion of islands at Rabindra Sarobar. Of the four islands, two have shrunk to nearly half the original size in the past decade. The loss of tree cover in the past three-four years has further accelerated the erosion. The third island has partial green cover while the fourth one houses a mosque.Over the past decade, over Rs 20 crore has been spent on sprucing up the lake of national imporance. Much of the money has gone into a beautification programme to make the area surrounding the lake better lit and more secure.For all the resources that the water in the lake and the 50 hectares of greenery have received, the four islands are yet to get the attention they need. The KMDA did try to arrest the erosion two years ago by piling saal logs along the edge of the islands, but it didn’t yield results as the water continued to gnaw at the banks. Now, the KMDA is attempting another intervention by dumping earth on the islands’ edges to rebuild the banks. Around 5,000 sacks of earth will be dumped in one island before the process is repeated in the second one.These islands are important for the birds they attract — for roosting and nesting — as well as the undisturbed biodiversity that has flourished on them since the man-made lakes were created almost 90 years ago. Denuded of trees and soil, migratory birds gave the islands a miss last winter. No painted stork visited Rabindra Sarobar as there was no nesting site.“Two islands are in a bad shape. The rate of erosion is such that if we do not act now, these islands will disappear in a couple of years. Last monsoon, the islands were nearly inundated by the rising water. We had to do something to save the islands and have decided to replenish the earth,” said a KMDA official.Though the agency had initially planned to construct a temporary ropeway to transport earth from the southern bank of the lake to the islands, it dumped the plan fearing opposition from green activists. “We are now transporting the sacks by boat. It will be time consuming but we did not wish to get embroiled in any controversy over this,” the official said.Wary of any controversy over the islands, KMDA officials plan to seek expert advise on how to conserve the islands that measure 10-15 cottah each. “We need hydrolotical studies to take corrective measures. We will also consult the Botanical Survey of India to find out what types of trees are would be suitable to sustain the island’s fauna,” he said.NGO Public, which had written a letter to urban development minister Firhad Hakim in 2016, outlining the need for restoration of the islands, suggested that geo-textile be draped over the poles to allow accumulation of sediment and sand, over which aquatic plants and reeds would start growing.“The slope will provide a ‘littoral zone’ for insects, reptiles and turtles to find haven. This will also become the hunting ground for the islands’ birds,” explained Bonani Kakkar of Public.The KMDA has been facing heat over construction activities in the Lake. The agency has also come in for flak over its half-hearted attempt to declare a plot between Calcutta Rowing Club and Lake Club as children’s park without creating the necessary amenities. “The KMDA had set up pillars around the plot. We stepped up pressure that forced the agency to pull down the pillars in November 2016. We have since been demanding that a children’s playground be set up. Though railings were installed around the plot and a banner proclaiming it a children’s playground inspired by the CM was put up, it doesn’t look or feel like one,” said morning walker and merchant navy official Bidyut Poddar.

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