Global warming taking toll of island

GHORAMARA ISLAND (WB): Global warming has taken toll of half of an island from where over 7000 people have been displaced and it might be a matter of time before the waters of the river Hooghly took away the rest.

Ghoramara, on the delta where the river meets Bay of Bengal in South 24 Parganas, was in 1969 a bustling 9.5 square km island with agriculture and fishing being the main source of income, but now just 4.7 sq km remained with the waters claiming more of it every day.

"It is not a problem of our state or our country, but Ghoramara island is an example of the threat looming over the whole world," West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi said during a visit here today.

"From glaciers to rivers, all places are being affected due to the rise in mean temperature of the world," the governor said.