ABSTRACT
The importance of Alexander Hodges’ map lies firstly in the fact that it is the authoritative evidence of the northern boundary of the Sundarbans and that it lays down the 239 ‘lots’ which have subsequently with small additions, formed the units of administration in the 24-Parganas and Khulna. By 1873, however, the map was out of date. The greatest havoc was confined to Chittagong and the estuary of the Meghna and accordingly the Bakarganj portion of the Sundarbans, only of the Sundarbans tracts, suffered severely in Galachipa thana no less than 1/5th of the population was estimated to have been drowned. On the night of October 31st and November 1st, 1876, occurred the most terrible cyclone and storm wave that had been experienced since 1822. The lesson of 1876 has taught little more than the impossibility of protecting the Sundarbans area as a whole from the dangers and disasters of storm waves.
