C T Online Desk: People living in Bangladesh’s coastal areas have been elated to open their hearts to Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth.
Mary spent seven hours with destitute people living near the Sundarbans at Satkhira’s Shyamnagar on Wednesday after arriving in the area around 10:15 am.
“We’re very happy at the princess’s visit. We told her that we now have more fresh water since the Kultali canal was dug. We can even farm two crops instead of one as we have fresh water,” said Pushpo Rani Mondal of Kultali village.
Princess Mary travelled in an Air Force helicopter that landed at the Dhankhali helipad in Shyamnagar’s Munshiganj. She then took a ride to Kultali village and spoke to the people affected by natural disasters. She also visited the dam and disaster shelter in Kultali.
Jagadish Chandra Mondal, leader of the Munshiganj Union Disaster Management Committee, shared their experiences of taking refuge in the disaster shelter during storms and tidal surges with the princess.
“People are usually reluctant to leave their homes and come to the disaster shelter. But, when they are compelled to come due to extreme natural disasters, they bring along their domestic animals. We asked the princess to help build sustainable embankments and more shelters in the area,” he said.
Security was beefed up in Satkhitra and in the Sundarbans during the princess’s visit and media workers were barred from the area.
Princess Mary walked along the embankment in Kultali village for some time, speaking to locals who told her they lost their houses every year due to the fragile embankment, said Munshiganj Union Council Chairman Ashimkumar Mridha.
“Locals also told Princess Mary that unemployment is on the rise. They told her shrimp farming does not require as much labour and the agriculture sector is almost ruined due to a lack of freshwater. The farmers demanded that authorities dig water bodies to ensure proper agriculture.”
Princess Mary then went to Kalagachhi to visit the Sundarbans, where she was welcomed by Khulna Divisional Forest Conservationist Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain.
They gave the crown princess a detailed introduction to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, said Mohsin.
The princess flew back to Dhaka at around 5 pm by helicopter. Satkhira Deputy Commissioner Humayun Kabir said the crown princess of Denmark had a successful visit.
Mary came to Bangladesh on Monday on a three-day visit. The focal point of her visit is climate change and those affected by it, she said.
The princess is yet to share her observations on the effects of climate change on the Sundarbans. She, however, had described the situation in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar as ‘grave’ after her visit on Tuesday.
