AS part of the national covid-19 vaccination drive, the state government of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has launched a "vaccination on boat" programme to reach the remotest parts of Sunderbans delta.
Home to more than 4.5 million people and the largest mangrove forest in the world, residents of the Bay of Bengal delta endure all the miseries nature throws at them - from cyclones to erosion.
Currently, only basic healthcare facilities are available in the region. But a government boat with vaccines gives hope to the residents.
"It's very difficult to get vaccinated in this village area. We used to line up at crowded hospitals to get a shot, unsuccessfully, before the boat came along," said Deepak Jena, a labourer on a remote island in the Sunderbans.
Indranil Bargi, a medical officer in the Gosaba area, said: "We have targeted some migrant people and the people who can't reach our sub-centre ... or any other session site (for coronavirus vaccinations)."
AstraZeneca and partner Serum Institute of India's Covishield is being used for the vaccination drive.
More than 400,000 people have died from Covid-19 in India and the government is trying to expand its immunisation drive to protect more people.
However, logistical challenges of reaching remote islands and treacherous villages in the mountains have complicated the effort.
A youth carries an elderly man as they wade through a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo on November 30, 2025. The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to at least 334 people across Sri Lanka, with nearly 400 still missing, the Disaster Management Centre said on November 30. Getty Images
A man carries his cat across a flooded road in Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo on November 29, 2025. Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance on November 29 as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. Getty Images
