News Desk :
A rise in the salinity of water due to storm surge powered by Cyclone Yaas has created a crisis of drinking water at the Sundarbans, reports bdnews24.com.
Forest Department officials believe the number of animals that died due to the storm was smaller than previous years as they had taken shelter on higher grounds during the storm that hit the coasts of India last Wednesday.
The bodies of at least four deer washed up after the cyclone.
Out of the 54 ponds in the west of the forest, 53 were flooded, leading to a rise in the level of salt, said Abdul Naser Mohsin Hossain, the forest officer for the Sundarbans West Division.
Besides animals and birds, forest officials, fishermen and people who depend on the forest drink water from the ponds.
Mohsin on Friday said five to six feet high tide above the normal level affected Forest Department camps and watchtowers.
Nine ponds were affected in the east division, said Forest Officer Md Belayet Hossain.
Meanwhile, the government has formed four teams to assess the damages to the Sundarbans caused by Cyclone Yaas, which formed in the Bay of Bengal and hit the coastal areas of the country Wednesday, reports UNB.
Assistant conservators of forest (ACFs) of the Sundarbans East and West zones were tasked with the responsibility.
Md Moyeen Uddin Khan, the forest conservator of the Khulna region, formed the teams.
Most parts of the Sundarbans have become inundated following a downpour induced Yaas, causing serious harm to wildlife.
The Sundarbans was the first area in Bangladesh to take the hit of the strong wind and tidal surge caused by Yaas.
The mangrove forest was flooded by a 5-7-foot tidal surge which damaged vessels and forest resources.
At least four deer drowned during the heavy tidal surge and two were rescued alive as they were getting washed away, Moyeen Uddin said.
