Kolkata, Oct. 13 -- An 'army' of women, many of whom have lost their husbands in tiger attacks, are now fighting to save the Sundarbans in West Bengal, the world's largest mangrove delta and home to more than 100 tigers.

Known as the "Mangrove Army", the group was recently praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat address aired on September 27. The women plant mangrove saplings along riverbanks to protect their villages from cyclones and help conserve the fragile ecosystem.

Namita Kayal, 45, a resident of Lahiripur, a remote island in the Sundarbans, lost her husband to a tiger attack in 2021. He was killed while catching crabs in the creeks inside the forest. Her sister-in-law, Anita Kayal, lost her husband in a simil...