The final event of the 2025 Sundarban Tramjatra Festival assembled citizens on 31st March at ICCR Rabindranath Tagore Centre Satyajit Ray Auditorium to reckon with climate crisis in the Sundarban and Kolkata, discussing their interconnectedness and climate challenges. The highly respected speakers from science, business and the arts sectors compellingly convey that addressing climate security needs to be the key driver of decision-making effecting both Kolkata and Sundarban, and that the futures of both must be considered together in integrated ways. Hosted by environmental advocate and journalist Jayanta Basu, our recording of the Citizens Assembly live event is shared as a four-part audio journey.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
PART 1 PODCAST
We jump aboard and firstly meet the co-curators of Sundarban Tramjatra: Kolkata-based filmmaker and activist Mahadeb Shi, former Melbourne tram conductor and environmental educator Roberto D’Andrea, and myself, Mick Douglas, artist, curator, and Assoc. Professor at RMIT University.
The panel includes four eminent Kolkatans.
Abhijeet Chatterjee is a Scientist at the Bose Institute and Advisor to the National Clean Air Programme. He succinctly explains that a 1% increase in carbon particulate in the Sundarban atmosphere that is generated in nearby Kolkata reduces the photosynthesis activity of Sundarban mangroves by an exponential 15%, producing death of plant cells, and hence significantly reduces the capacity of mangroves to sequester carbon.
Bhargav Maitra, Transport Expert of IIT Kharagpur, argues that sustainable urban transport needs to focus on connectivity services to meets people’s needs, rather than fixate on the illusion that moving ever increasingly more cars will ever solve the challenges of congestion.
Ashoke Vishwanathan, filmaker and scholar, reminds us of the role that the tram has played in the Bengali films of Satajit Ray and Mirinal Sen, and how we urgently need more art that enters the public psyche and shapes cultural awareness of our pressing climate problems and imaginative responses.
Jawhar Sircar, a former MP of India & Retired Public Servant, describes how over the last 7-9 years, the entire legislative apparatus of environmental protection in India is being destroyed, one at a time. He advocates social media campaigns, and use of orders of the courts as necessary resistance.
PART 2 PODCAST
This second part of the Citizens Assembly of March 2025 brings into conversation a panel of five experts.
Mahalaya Chatterjee is a Professor of transport economics at Calcutta University. She proposes that public transport survives when it is regular, cost effective and efficient, but sadly Kolkata tramways has been victim of neglect. Kolkata is dependant on ecologically vulnerable areas around it — most importantly the Sundarbans, which needs alternative livelihood opportunities for people to care for the inter-tidal mangrove forest ecology.
Tathagata Chatterji is a Professor of Urban Management at XIM University, who reminds us how the 1966 released BC Roy’s Basic Development Plan for the Calcutta Metropolitan District was a comprehensive urban planning strategy integrating linkages of Kolkata and its surrounding region. He argues that since the 1990’s development decisions have been unplanned, and greater Kolkata sorely needs an integrated transit-oriented urban development plan, which he thinks will take civil society groups to articulate how to shape the type of city we have to the city we need.
Alok Jain is Director of Trans-consult, and former CEO of transport systems in Hong Kong, where 90percent of daily travel is via public transport. He says Kolkata could have an effective, sustainable and cared for tramways, in which half a million daily journeys through Kolkata by tramways would make a significant impact on decarbonising transport. He boldly proposes to give the tramways to him, and he will run it at zero cost to government.
Pradip Kakkar, Environment Activist of the group PUBLIC, a litigant against the Government of West Bengal’s neglect of Kolkata Tramways, who believes in people getting involved in the problems around them. He is concerned for the future climate resilience of Kolkata: its citizenry is aging with 11% over 60s and increasing, have high literacy, have lowest fertility, and the 20-29 age group are outwardly migration for lack of opportunity, whilst 7,000 vehicles are registered per month.
Kunal Sarkar, a Cardiac Surgeon and well known debater, gives a birds-eye overview of Kolkata’s present situation of what he calls ‘socio-economic drift’. With population in decline, increasingly European lifestyle behaviour, and increasing income in India, the geo-political forces are reversing Indian social conscious prioritisation of climate issues to meet short term ends.
PART 3 PODCAST
In the third part of the Citizens Assembly journey, seven highly respected speakers bring about a rich exchange of knowledge and experience, and aspirations for the Sundarban and Kolkata and their human and non-human species.
Tuhin Ghosh, Professor Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University summarises the ecosystem relation of Kolkata and Sundarban as a transportation back and forth: Kolkata receives the good from Sundarban and delivers the bad to the Sundarban. The 16 million people of greater Kolkata are producing pollution that is transported to Sundarban, including waste from six municipalities into the river system flowing to Sundarban. The Sundarban delivers ecosystem services to Kolkata, including the cyclone buffer to Kolkata, but also fish, crabs, honey and vegetables. Cutting down of mangroves needs to stop, but people of the Sundarban will need support for alternative livelihoods, and will likely be seeking compensation in the near future for loss and damages.
Gautam Ghosh, celebrity Film Director, makes films that he says address an urge or purpose. His most recent film ‘Parikrama’ is set amongst the environmental and human displacement in India’s Narmada Valley. He proposes that no longer in an Age of Belief or Age of Enlightenment, humanity is now in an Age of Greed. Whilst todays policy-makers’ focus on economy does not care for this small blue planet, he urges art to cultivate a consciousness of understanding the root causes of materialistic greed and the quick profit.
Pradeep Vyas is a Former Director of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, who sees the tram as a symbol of people standing together for environmental sustainability. The Sundarban is subsiding at 2 to 3 times global average of sea level rise, and as an early victim of climate change, it’s ecological refugees would place further pressure on Kolkata. He shares a raft of revealing data: The Sundarban comprises approximately 36 mangrove species and 80 mangrove associate species, which according to a 2015 study, provides US$12.8 billion ecosystem services every year, which is 50,000 Rupees per hectare. 13% of the Sundarban’s ecosystems services are tangible, but 87% are intangible and need to be given importance. He proposes a 1% kind of Sundarban tax that acknowledges that people protect the Sundarban, and need to be valued and supported to continue that protection.
Ritwick Dutta is an Environment Lawyer, Founder of LIFE (Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment). He outlines how loss and damages has been formalised in the UN led International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) process, with the World Bank taking charge of it for first 4 years. However unless the Nation State takes an obligation in climate change there is no capacity for individuals or organisations to go before the court, so efforts are underway to change institutional mechanisms enabling people to take to the court. The IPCC’s 2019 India's Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification designates the entire Sundarban area a CVCA (Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area). He says serious gaps in governance of the Sundarban must be addressed: the management of the Biosphere Reserve and Tiger Reserves must be located and undertaken on ground, not remotely from Kolkata and Canning, and coastal management authorities must be cease to operate in violation of the 2019 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification.
Krishna Ray, Associate Professor of Botany at West Bengal State University, is well aware of how Sundarban Mangroves are the saviour of Kolkata from cyclone and water surges. She speaks to the limits of planted mangroves of few species compared to naturally replicated regeneration, and is leading a program of mangrove planting on an ‘ecological restoration principle’ with minimal human intervention so that after 2-3 years these areas become self-sustaining with a naturally regenerated diversity of other species as exists in surviving areas. Given it is unclear when natural regeneration will kick-in by itself and thus create protection, she argues there is a necessary urgent role for mangrove planting.
Punyasloke Bhadury is Professor of Biological Sciences at Jadavpur University. He studies how the Sundarban absorbs disturbances and pollutants from surrounding areas of West Bengal and beyond, to make it the worlds largest plastics dump. Comparison between Sundarban mangroves and other global mangroves ecosystems reveal that the sediments and water includes many special types of bacteria that keep unique ecosystem alive, but this is rapidly changing as barrages are broken and higher salinity causes changes. He argues for local solutions for local problems that address global problems, such as an ecological restoration program in the Sundarban that is bringing back oysters which play a key role in reducing erosion risk.
Subhas Acharyan is a Member of the Sundarban Development Board, who puts it simply: If you want to save Kolkata you must save Sundarban. Stopping the flow of rivers is having damaging impacting on the downstream ecology of the Sundarban. He says that people can plant mangroves, but cannot create forest in its diversity, so remaining forest must be protected. Since 1951 the human population in the Indian Sundarban has increased from 1.1million to a present estimated 5 million, despite decreasing land area, and there is an emerging drinking water crisis across the islands.
PART 4 PODCAST
Now on this last leg of the Citizens Assembly journey, here is a heart lifting musical offering recorded live at the ICCR auditorium in Kolkata. First up is Bijoysurodeep Sil and Ektara Desi’s performance of their 2024 released song celebrating tramways, Tram er gaan, joined in chorus by the former Melbourne tram conductor Roberto D’Andrea. And lastly, long time Tramjatra friend Ramaswamy performs a song in Italian composed by Saint Francis of Assisi around 1225. The song is known as ‘the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon’, and is about the oneness and interconnectedness of the web of life.
… the song translated to English:
the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon
sweet is the feeling in my heart
now, humbly, love is born
sweet is the knowledge that I am not alone
but I am a part of immense life
that generous life all around me
his gift and his immense love
he gave us the sky and the bright stars
brother sun and sister moon
mother earth, with fruits, grass and flowers
the fire, wind, the air, and pure water
source of life for his creatures
his gift and his immense love
his gift and his immense love
Citizens Assembly Podcast series edited by Mick Douglas & Pratyay Raha, 2025.
in alphabetical order
Abhijit Chatterjee is an Associate Professor at Bose Institute, Kolkata, specializing in atmospheric chemistry and environmental sciences. As the Nodal Scientist for West Bengal under a national mission, he focuses on air quality, aerosol chemistry, and climate change impacts, particularly in the Himalayas and urban tropics. His research explores black and brown carbon behavior, aerosol-cloud interactions, and long-term air pollution trends in India. With over 50 publications, Chatterjee has significantly contributed to understanding atmospheric pollution sources and mitigation strategies. He also mentors PhD students and teaches atmospheric science, advancing interdisciplinary research at Bose Institute.
Alok Jain is the CEO and Managing Director of Trans-consult, a globally recognized management consulting firm focused on sustainable urban mobility and technology-driven public transport solutions. With over 30 years of experience, Jain is an expert in public transport operations, specializing in AI, data analytics, and clean fuel technologies. He has collaborated with major operators like MTR Corporation and Kowloon Motor Bus in Hong Kong. An international trainer for the UITP, a Fellow at Civic Exchange, and a speaker on multi-modal integration, Jain also teaches at the University of Hong Kong and contributes to transport policy initiatives.
Ashoke Viswanathan is an award winning filmmaker with 13 feature films to his credit, and more than 150 documentary, telefilm and short films. He has twice chaired the National Film Awards jury, and is a regular theatre director, actor and playwright. He is a Charles Wallace scholar at Downing College Cambridge, and has been Professor and Dean at SRFTI (Kolkata) and a Visiting Professor at Tufts University, Boston and Monmouth University, New Jersey besides lecturing at FTII, Jadavpur University, the Heritage Academy and St. Xavier's College. He has published two volumes of poetry in addition to verse. 
Dr. Bhargab Maitra is a distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, specializing in Transportation Engineering. With a Ph.D. from IIT Bombay and an M.Tech from IIT Kanpur, he is an acclaimed expert in traffic engineering, transport planning, and road safety. Maitra has authored nearly 100 publications and led numerous high-impact research projects funded by the Indian government. An Alexander von Humboldt and DAAD Fellow, he received the Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award from the Indian Roads Congress. His work focuses on urban mobility, public transport systems, and innovative traffic management solutions, significantly influencing transportation policies in India.
Goutam Ghose is a renowned Indian film director, cinematographer, and music director, celebrated for his work in Bengali cinema. Emerging from the Parallel Cinema movement, he blends documentary realism with poetic storytelling, focusing on the marginalized. His notable films, including Antarjali Jatra, Padma Nadir Majhi, and Moner Manush, have earned him multiple National Film Awards. Ghose is the only Indian to receive Italy’s Vittorio Di Sica Award (1997) and was honored with the Banga Bibhushan (2012) and Knighthood of the Star of Italian Solidarity (2006). A Calcutta University graduate, he began with documentaries in 1973.
Jayanta Basu is a Kolkata-based freelance journalist renowned for his environmental and climate change reporting. Associated with The Telegraph (ABP Pvt Limited), he also contributes to Down To Earth and international outlets like HuffPost. Since 2009, he has covered global climate meetings and led impactful environmental campaigns in eastern India, earning the 2020 Paryawaran Sarankshak Samman award. A faculty member at the University of Calcutta, Basu combines academic rigor with journalism, focusing on urban pollution, climate justice, and ecological conservation. His work amplifies marginalized voices and critiques systemic environmental challenges.
Jawhar Sircar is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer and public intellectual. Joining the IAS in 1975, he served as India’s longest-serving Culture Secretary (2008-2012) and CEO of Prasar Bharati (2012-2016). Elected to the Rajya Sabha in August 2021 as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from West Bengal, he resigned on September 13, 2024, protesting the TMC government’s handling of the Kolkata rape-murder case and corruption. A vocal critic of authoritarianism, Sircar has authored works on history and culture, earning praise from leaders like Manmohan Singh for his distinguished service.
Krishna Ray is an Associate Professor of the Department of Botany, West Bengal State University, researching in Biotechnology and Botany. She has been working on ecological restoration of degraded mangrove patches outside the protected areas in Indian Sundarbans settlement regions in the shoreline mangroves lining the estuarine rivers in Patharpratima Block since 2014 with financial assistance from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and support from Forest Department, Govt. of West Bengal. Semi-restored patches are harbouring almost 30 species of mangroves and associate species including rare and threatened ones, associated fauna, and huge natural regeneration of mangrove seedlings in each season, proving the restoration of functionality of the ecosystem as a whole.
Dr. Kunal Sarkar is a renowned cardiac surgeon based in Kolkata, India, with over 25 years of experience. As Senior Vice Chairman and Head of Cardiac Surgery at Medica Superspecialty Hospital, he has performed over 17,000 coronary bypass surgeries, earning global recognition. A graduate of Medical College, Calcutta, he trained at St. Mary’s Hospital, UK, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Past President of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, he co-founded the Kolkata Heart Foundation in 2015. Dr. Sarkar is also a noted debater and cultural figure in Kolkata.
Mahadeb Shi is a Kolkata-based filmmaker and co-founder of Tramjatra, a cultural festival initiated in 1996 to celebrate and preserve the tram heritage of Kolkata and Melbourne. As an activist, Shi uses art, film, and public engagement to advocate for trams as an eco-friendly transport solution amid climate change concerns. He is Artistic Director and co-curating the 2025 Sundarban Tramjatra. His documentary "Tramjatra" highlights the 20-year friendship between the two cities' tram communities, emphasizing sustainability and cultural exchange. Shi, also the secretary of the Calcutta Tram Users’ Association, tirelessly campaigns against misconceptions about trams, pushing for their modernisation and survival in Kolkata.
Dr. Mahalaya Chatterjee is a distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Calcutta, specializing in urban economics, planning, gender, and female work. With a career spanning decades, she has served as Director of the Centre for Urban Economic Studies (2010-2017) and Head of the Economics Department (2012-2014). A prolific researcher, she has authored 17 publications and coordinated the Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Management and Planning. As President of the Calcutta University Teachers’ Association, she advocates for academic autonomy. Her work critically examines urbanization trends, notably in West Bengal, earning her widespread recognition.
Mick Douglas is an Australian artist and curator, creative practice researcher and co-founder of Tramjatra. An RMIT University Associate Professor, Douglas has authored Tramjatra: Imagining Melbourne and Kolkata by Tramways and led projects like ‘W-11 Tram’ for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival. His work, including co-curating 2025 Sundarban Tramjatra, blends performance, installation, and socially engaged art, fostering dialogue on urban transport and ecological resilience across continents. He is the temporary steward of 40-acres of revegetating bushland on the traditional land of the DjabWurrung and Jardawajali people in S-E Australia, where climate change and colonial land management practices are increasing the frequency and force of extreme wildfires. 
Dr. Punyasloke Bhadury is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata. Holding an M.Sc. from Edinburgh, a Ph.D. from Plymouth, and postdoctoral experience from Princeton, he joined IISER Kolkata in 2009. A 2019 SwarnaJayanti Fellowship recipient, his research explores microbial biocomplexity, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem restoration, particularly in mangroves like the Sundarbans. With over 80 publications, he develops cost-effective technologies for waste management and coastal biomonitoring. Bhadury represented India at the 2023 UN Ocean Action meeting, showcasing his global environmental impact.
Pradeep Kumar Vyas is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1989 Maharashtra cadre, currently serving as Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) of India. With a career spanning over three decades, he has held key positions, including Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department. Known for his expertise in governance and administration, Vyas was appointed to the CVC in March 2023, tasked with overseeing anti-corruption efforts across central government bodies. A graduate in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, he brings a wealth of experience to this critical role.
Pradeep Kakkar is a prominent environmental activist based in Kolkata, India, co-founder of the NGO People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLIC). Alongside his wife, Bonani Kakkar, he has championed urban environmental causes for over 25 years, notably leading efforts to protect the East Kolkata Wetlands. Their work culminated in a landmark 1992 Calcutta High Court ruling safeguarding the 12,500-acre ecosystem. Kakkar’s activism focuses on reducing noise and air pollution, engaging school children in campaigns, and collaborating with local authorities. His book, Once Upon a City, chronicles PUBLIC’s citizen-driven initiatives for a sustainable Kolkata.
Ritwick Dutta is a prominent Indian environmental lawyer and founder of the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), established in 2005. With over two decades of experience, he has litigated over 350 cases, championing environmental justice and community rights. His work secured landmark judgments, including the 2013 Supreme Court ruling protecting tribal consent in mining cases. LIFE, under his leadership, won the 2021 Right Livelihood Award for empowering vulnerable communities. Facing allegations of FCRA violations in 2023, Dutta remains a key figure in India’s environmental democracy movement, advocating for transparency and accountability.
Roberto D’Andrea is a former Melbourne tram conductor, environmental educator and co-founder of Tramjatra. Inspired by a 1994 visit to Kolkata, he co-founded this initiative to celebrate trams’ environmental and cultural value. A former advocate for Melbourne’s tram conductors, D’Andrea has decorated 13 trams in Kolkata and seven in Melbourne, blending art, performance, and activism. His work, including co-curating 2025 Sundarban Tramjatra, promotes sustainable transport and strengthens Australia-India ties, earning global recognition. For over two decades, he has expanded the conductor’s craft of making human connection with oral storytelling and ticket exchange to become an innovative grass-roots environmental educator, with his performance troupe ‘The Connies’. 
Sanjay Vashist is the Director of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), a coalition of over 200 NGOs across eight South Asian countries, focused on climate policy advocacy. With a Master’s in Forestry from Anand Agricultural University, he brings over 25 years of experience in natural resource management, climate change, and environmental justice. Under his leadership, CANSA’s membership grew tenfold, amplifying South Asia’s voice in global climate negotiations. Previously, he advised the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Climate Change Programme in India and worked with TERI. A skilled communicator and photographer, Vashist drives regional cooperation on climate resilience.
Subhas Acharya is a notable member of the Sundarban Development Board, contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of West Bengal’s Sundarban region. With a career rooted in the West Bengal government’s Sundarban development efforts, he has extensive experience in managing environmental and infrastructural challenges. Acharya played a key role in assessing Cyclone Amphan’s impact in 2020, noting how timing mitigated worse devastation to the region’s embankments. His work focuses on balancing development with ecological preservation in this UNESCO World Heritage site, addressing issues like connectivity, irrigation, and livelihoods for the region’s marginalized communities.
Dr. Tathagata Chatterji is a Professor of Urban Management and Governance at XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India, with over 35 years of experience in urban development. Holding an Architecture degree from Calcutta University, a Master’s in Urban Design from Kent State University, and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of Queensland, he previously taught at institutions like the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada. His research focuses on urban sustainability, economic development, and governance, with four books and numerous publications to his credit. He received the 2016 Gerd Albers Award from ISOCARP.
Dr. Tuhin Ghosh is a Professor and Director of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. A coastal geomorphology expert, his research spans disaster management, climate change impacts, adaptation strategies, and human migration. He served as a Lead Author for the IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere, focusing on sea level rise, and contributes to Urban Climate Science in UCCRN ARC3.3. Ghosh led India’s efforts in the ‘ESPA-Delta,’ ‘DECCMA,’ and ‘Living Deltas’ projects. With over 140 publications, he significantly influences coastal and deltaic sustainability policies.
