Mamata suggests planting mangroves in foothills to prevent natural catastrophe
Citing the Sunderbans’ success, the CM says five crore mangroves have served as natural shields during cyclones and heavy rains
In a strikingly unconventional suggestion, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 15 October, proposed a green shield for North Bengal’s fragile foothills — by planting mangroves and vetiver grass along riverbanks to create natural barriers against the fury of floods and landslides.
Citing the Sunderbans’ success story, Banerjee said five crore mangrove saplings planted in the deltaic region had acted as living fortresses during cyclones and heavy rains. “Like the Sunderbans, we must erect natural walls in the hills and foothills to combat recurring calamities,” she said at an administrative review meeting, stressing that concrete embankments “collapse within months” under pressure from surging waters.
“We need a lasting, nature-based solution to the region’s recurrent problem,” the chief minister emphasised, pitching ecological resilience over engineering quick-fixes.
However, her remarks soon triggered a political tempest. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, never one to miss a jab, took to X with biting sarcasm. “I hereby nominate West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for the next Nobel Prize in Geography and Botany for her historic and game-changing idea — mangroves in the mountains!” he wrote.
Adhikari, a former Trinamool heavyweight who joined the BJP in 2020, mocked the Chief Minister’s lack of “basic topographical sense”, explaining that mangroves are salt-tolerant species thriving in brackish coastal waters, not mountainous terrains.
“Mangrove forests are nature’s unparalleled coastal shields — protecting against cyclones, waves, and marine erosion,” he said. “But they belong to muddy saline wetlands, not the riversides of North Bengal.”
In a further swipe, he quipped, “Mamata Banerjee has decided to plant mangroves in the mountains! Topography can go for a toss!”
Ending his tirade with a political flourish, Adhikari claimed Bengal had “become a laughingstock” under Banerjee’s leadership and urged voters to “turn the tide” when the 2026 Assembly polls arrive.
With PTI inputs