South Talpatti (), also known as New Moore () and Purbasha Island (), was a small uninhabited offshore

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

island in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

, off the coast of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region.Global warming as peacemaker? Disputed island disappears under rising sea.
''Christian Science Monitor'', March 24, 2010 It emerged in the

in the aftermath of the Bhola cyclone in November 1970, and disappeared around March 2010. Although the island was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located on it, both

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

claimed sovereignty over. There has been speculation over the existence of oil and natural gas in the region. The issue of sovereignty was also a part of the larger dispute over the Radcliffe Award methodology of settling the

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

between the two countries. The matter was resolved on 7 July 2014, when the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

(PCA) delivered a verdict in the "Bay of Bengal maritime boundary arbitration between Bangladesh and India" case.

Geography

The island was only from the mouth of the Hariabhanga River. The emergence of the island was discovered by an American satellite in 1974 that showed it to have an area of . Later, various remote sensing surveys showed that the island had expanded gradually to an area of about at low tide, including a number of ordinarily submerged shoals. The highest elevation of the island never exceeded

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

."Disputed Bay of Bengal island 'vanishes' say scientists"
BBC, March 24, 2010

Location

The island was located in the coastal, shallow

immediately south of the

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

river, the Hariabhanga, flowing between

Satkhira district Satkhira District (; ) is a district in southwestern Bangladesh and is part of Khulna Division. It lies along the border with West Bengal, India. It is on the bank of the Arpangachhia River. The largest city and headquarter of this district is Satk ...

of Bangladesh and the

South 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore previously, with its Zilla Parishad now in Ba ...

district of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India, at 21°37′00″N 89°08′30″E. It is now under the waves of the

Dispute

The island was claimed by both Bangladesh and India, although neither country established any permanent settlement there because of the island's geological instability based on silt deposits in a delta which floods every year. India had reportedly hoisted the

Indian flag The national flag of India, colloquially called Tiraṅgā (the tricolour), is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag, the colours being of India saffron, white and India green; with the , a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It wa ...

on the island in 1981 and established a temporary base of Border Security Forces (BSF), regularly visiting with its Water Wing gunboats. According to the Radcliffe Award (establishing the

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and India boundary in 1947), the 'mid-channel flow' principle or

thalweg In geography, hydrography, and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line or curve of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Normally only the horizontal position of the curve is considered (as viewed on a map); the c ...

doctrine is generally recognized as the international boundary on river borders between these two countries. The middle line of the mid-channel flow (thalweg) of the Hariabhanga River established the original boundary between the states. Had the island not disappeared, the eventual determination of the island's sovereignty might have had a major impact over the location of the states'

further offshore when it is negotiated between Bangladesh and India. There is no available conclusive evidence as to which side of the island the main channel flowed, and it may have changed over time given shifting

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

of the

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

delta. India claimed that a 1981 detailed survey of water depths showed the main and much deeper channel and main flow on the east side of the island, which favored India. Similar survey data was printed on a 1990

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

chart and reprinted on the 1991 US

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national se ...

(NGA) chart number 63330 Edition 9 at 1:300,000 scale. On the other hand, the Bangladeshi government claimed, as during

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

's visit to India in the late 1970s, that data provided clearly showed the main current flow on the western side of the island's location, thus favoring Bangladesh. Under some

international boundary Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

precedents, the location of the channel in 1947 or at the time of the island's emergence may have been more relevant than its later location. River channels may shift their locations from time to time. Based on a case filed by the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

in October 2009 at the

the dispute was settled in July 2014 by a final verdict not open to appeal and in favour of Bangladesh. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) verdict awarded Bangladesh with out of disputed area with India in the Bay of Bengal but with

South Talpatti South Talpatti (), also known as New Moore () and Purbasha Island (), was a small uninhabited offshore sandbar island in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region.Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India, said that the island had disappeared and that

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

caused by

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

was a factor. He said that sea level rise, changes in monsoonal rain patterns which altered river flows, and land subsidence were all contributing to the inundation of land in the northern Bay of Bengal. Hazra said that other islands in the Indian

region are eroding very fast. The

United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

has estimated that 17 percent of Bangladesh will be submerged underwater by 2050 if sea levels rise by due to climate change.Sunk by global warming? Wave goodbye to this disputed island
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', March 25, 2010 Hazra said that due to

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

, temperatures in the Bay of Bengal area have been rising at an annual rate of 0.4 degrees Celsius and in the 2000-2009 decade, sea water level rose at a rate of a year.New Moore Island is no more as climate changes ends ownership dispute
Times Online, March 25, 2010 India is preparing to send a study team to physically assess the situation in the region.New Moore Island disappears
''

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...

'', March 25, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Moor Islands of West Bengal Geography of South 24 Parganas district Sundarbans Disputed islands Former islands of India Uninhabited islands of India Territorial disputes of India Territorial disputes of Bangladesh Former islands of Bangladesh Uninhabited islands of Bangladesh Islands of India Islands of the Bay of Bengal

Geography

Location

Dispute

See also

References