Raj Kumar Konar, Retired Professor, Visva-Bharati; Santiniketan.

Jharkhali is a village under Basanti Block in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal. It is situated adjacent to North Western part of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and about 80 km. from Kolkata. Sundarbans is World’s largest mangrove forest & a World Heritage Site. Settlement in this place started after independence by the refugees from Bangladesh. I have been visiting this place quite often since last fifteen years. The allurement of getting gimps of the Royal Bengal Tiger, spotted dear and scenic beauty of vast mangrove forest with its unbroken intricate skeletal formation of sundari trees along both sides of its rivers & rivulets brings most tourists time & again to visit Sundarbans.
The economic scenario that existed in the last century in Jharkhali was very pathetic. There were no school, health center, roads and hardly any connection with the rest of the world. The people were illiterate and very poor. Tiger attacks were very common occurrence. Even today many honey collectors and crab pickers often face similar situation. Local residents of all faiths were more dependents on God’s grace and used to worship mythological mother goddess of the forests “Bon-Bibi and the tiger god “Bagh-Debata for their safety. Boats were the only mode of transport for the people living bordering the forest areas. Outsiders were afraid to visit this wonder island. Lack of any irrigation facilities have restricted its inhabitants to cultivate paddy for once a year only. Except fishing & pisciculture and animal husbandry there were hardly any other employment opportunities or livelihood options in the vicinity.
Presently the State Government has given special emphasis for developing infrastructural & communication facilities by building wider metal roads, bridges etc. since last ten years to strengthen tourism at this place. Presently about half of the local people are connected to tourism industry in various ways and getting economic benefit out of it. They are directly or indirectly working for the hotels & hospitality sector, tour guide, boatman, infrastructural development work, selling daily needs and also in many small business-related activities, e.g. running home-stay, repair, sales & service; plying three-wheeler, car, van, etc. Monthly income of majority of its inhabitants have crossed five figures and even more. However, this has to be noted that tourism in these coastal areas is mostly seasonal and remains active from the month October to March. This limitation compels them in finding alternative source of income elsewhere as migrant agricultural labors, skilled workers etc. to sustain themselves for the rest of the year.
It is indeed good news to know that about thirty numbers hotels and resorts in Jharkhali have formed “JHARKHALI HOTEL OWNERS WELFARE ASSOCIATION”, which is a registered Society as per Registration of Societies act XXVI of 1961, Government of West Bengal. During my last visit at Jharkhali, I had opportunity to talk to a few members of the Associations, local hoteliers, vendors, entrepreneurs & Government officials on such various aspects. The observations are enlisted below:
i. Today there are many hotels / resorts & homestays operating in Jharkhali. This place has requisite number of basic education facilities for children and schools for boys & girls and play grounds. However, amenities and facilities for these need to be upgraded.
ii. Events related to Art competitions, Debates, Sports, Book fair etc. to be organized from time to time in collaboration with Schools, Panchayats and other local bodies. Organizing occasional Programs related to Promotion of local culture based on community belief e.g. Folksong, Baul, Jhumur, Manashapala, Sitalapala, Bonobibipala, etc. to be staged to entertain the tourists in the evening, Health awareness, Emergency health-care service, Clinic for treating critical patients, Social security etc. to be looked into. A Corpus fund may be generated for the same with the help from NGO’s, Industries and Governments.
iii. The Association should simultaneously look into the overall interest of their customer as well as provide financial benefit to the local residents of this region. It should try to function in collaboration with local / government bodies e.g. Panchayats, Police Station etc. and always keep a vigilant eye on all counterproductive activities in the vicinity if any that takes place in name of tourism. This would help in taking timely steps against such act with the help of local Police station & Government bodies. At least two invitees from the local bodies may be inducted in major decision-making process. It should also see that local community should take more interest in participating all kinds of community development programs.
iv. Plastic waste accumulation and Sound & Air pollution would be the major concern in the near future due to the increased flow of tourist and rise in vehicular traffic plying between Kolkata and Jharkahli. This should also be dealt effectively and separate policy has to be formulated in this regard.
v. It has been observed that majority of the hotel owners and workers are local residents, which means local people are mostly benefitted financially from these ventures. Though the number of hotels, homestays, resorts, etc. have increased over the years, but most of these lacks requisite standard. Newer hotel owners should also look into keeping parity of providing enough greeneries, quality food, room facilities and services offered to the tourists including tariff, which should have parity with the existing hotels and hospitality sector. A healthy competition amongst the beneficiaries should prevail.
Today, Jharkhali has emerged as a favorite entry point to visit the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve amongst tourists. The newly established Tiger Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, a Watch Tower, a Children's' park as well as a Butterfly Garden at Jharkhali etc. have added for its popularity. This has created new opportunity for the local community for tourism development in Jharkhali. The establishment of “JHARKHALI HOTEL OWNERS WELFARE ASSOCIATION” is definitely going to be a very important step toward a holistic sustainable development for the place, the tourists and also for its inhabitants.