The silent sentinels
Six years back, on 26 th day of Dec 2004, when the giant tsunami waves struck A&N Islands , there was absolute mayhem. Everybody ran uphill to protect themselves, yet those nearest to the sea, stood firm and bore the burnt of natures fury silently, for they bear on their back the responsibility of protecting our coasts and they did it with firm determination. Who are they? They are the Mangroves; the silent sentinels of our coasts. Debkumar Bhadra | Musings of an Islander Mangroves are a group of salt tolerant tree species that grows in the saline marshy areas between the shore and the sea in tropical and sub tropical latitudes. They are found in the inter-tidal zones along the coasts, bays, estuaries, lagoons, creeks and backwaters which are exposed during low tide and flooded by sea during high tide everyday. Globally there are nearly 70 species of true mangroves found dominating three quarters of the tropical coastline. Ind...