Two Trinamul Congress candidates in the Sunderbans launched their election campaign on Thursday by embarking on a tree planting drive to restore the mangroves which had been damaged by Cyclone Amphan in May last year.

Debesh Mondal and Sukumar Mahato, candidates of Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali Assembly constituencies, respectively, in North 24-Parganas planted around 1,000 mangrove saplings on alluvial land in the Hatgacha area running alongside the Roymangal river. Both the candidates said the drive would continue through the poll season.

Simultaneous tee planting drives were also launched by Trinamul workers on Tuesday in other parts of the region adjacent to the rivers Kalindi, Goureshwar and Bidyadhari.

Saplings were mainly of kalo bain (avicennia alba), peyara bain (avicennia marina), hargoja (acanthus ilicifolius), kewra (pandan), geoan (excoecaria agallocha) and sundari (heritiera fomes) — the dominant mangrove trees in the Sunderbans. They grow fast in brackish water.

According to an assessment done by the state government, about 28 per cent of the Sunderbans forest, spanning over 9,630sqkm, was damaged during Cyclone Amphan. In an attempt to restore the mangroves, the Bengal government had on June 5, on the occasion of World Environment Day, launched a restorative plantation programme in the Sunderbans spanning approximately 1,200sqkm out of the 4,263sqkm mangroves that had been destroyed.

Asked why such an endeavour had not been taken up earlier and launched only ahead of the polls, Debesh Mandal said: “The endeavour is not to woo people for votes, rather it is being done out of our social commitment to save the Sunderbans mangrove that was damaged in Amphan.”

“Restoration drives have been taken up at many levels. I also tried my best in this initiative. Nevertheless, this fresh one has been taken to encourage people to undertake similar to things,” he added.

Sandeshkhali candidate Mahato said: “The survival of the Sunderbans and its people depend on the mangroves. So, we took the initiative to save the Sunderbans and create awareness among people”.

“We will continue to plant such saplings to restore the mangroves,” Mandal told The Telegraph.

The North 24-Parganas district BJP leadership, however, termed the drive an election “gimmicks”. “These Trinamul leaders had little time to ponder over the mangroves in the past 10 months. Now with Assembly elections knocking at the door, they are trying to draw attention. But such gimmicks will not help them win votes,” a BJP leader said.