Impact of floods and river-bank erosion on the riverine people in Manikchak Block of Malda District, West Bengal

Abstract

Floods and river-bank erosion are the most frequent natural hazards in India, specifically in the deltaic regions. In West Bengal, floods and river-bank erosion predominantly affect Malda district as it is located in the moribund part of the Bengal delta. This article studies the recent trend of shifting course of the River Ganga and the effects of floods and consequent river-bank erosion on livelihoods of the residents of chars [The chars (called Diara in the upper reaches of the Gangetic plains) are virgin, low-lying river islands and sand bars occurring in the plains, particularly the deltaic parts of rivers (Lahiri-Dutt and Samanta, South Asia: J South Asia Stud 30:327–350, 2007 ).] and river-bank areas of Manikchak block in the Malda district. Around 300 sample households were selected by random stratified sampling technique from four gram panchayats of Manikchak block. Both primary and secondary data have been used. After analysing satellite images from the year 1973 to 2018, it has been observed that the River Ganga continues to shift eastwards and is eroding villages one after another. Inhabitants face multidimensional obstacles to run their households. Large numbers of people are displaced every year due to loss of land. Failure in facilitating the required assistance in the form of alternative spaces for resettlement and other disaster-mitigating public support systems against these hazards would make it impossible for the deplorable condition of the vulnerable people to improve.

Assessment of Riverbank Erosion and Accretion and its Impact on the People of Chairman Ghat, Noakhali, Bangladesh

“…Socioeconomic and livelihood characteristics are crucial for understanding the entire socio-economic status of the families in the study area (Das & Samanta, 2022). We've received responses from 78% of men and 22% of women.…”

Assessing Morphological Changes of the Msimbazi River Using Satellite Images

“…Modification of landforms such as through clearing of forests for urban expansion and agriculture leads to increased erosion in upstream catchments. This in turn leads to deposition of the eroded materials in the downstream, hence reduce channel capacity and results into river bank flooding (Das & Samanta, 2022;Douglas, 2017). Communities living in lowlaying areas in the downstream are more prone to flooding with associated impacts including loss of propery and life (Das & Samanta, 2022;Kironde, 2016;Monte et al, 2016;Nchito, 2007).…”

“…This in turn leads to deposition of the eroded materials in the downstream, hence reduce channel capacity and results into river bank flooding (Das & Samanta, 2022;Douglas, 2017). Communities living in lowlaying areas in the downstream are more prone to flooding with associated impacts including loss of propery and life (Das & Samanta, 2022;Kironde, 2016;Monte et al, 2016;Nchito, 2007). Although floods impact both the rich and the poor, literature shows that the impacts are more felt by the urban poor as they normally do not have any alternative dwellings and have limited capacity to get back on their feet after the disasters (Amoako, 2012;Kironde, 2016;Nchito, 2007).…”

“…Recent climate change and variability trends are attributed to the change in rainfall patterns, increased intensities and frequency hence increased river discharge (John et al, 2019;Sauka, 2019;Valimba & Mahe, 2020). These climatic impacts coupled with other site specific factors such as land degradation and poor solid waste management (Akay et al, 2020;Petersson et al, 2020;Smiley & Hambati, 2020), have exacerbate the erosion and sedimentation in the Msimbazi River channel, and hence modifications of the channel morphology, including decrease river width and depth in some areas (Das & Samanta, 2022). Literature show influence of morphological changes of a river to the coveyance and carrying capacity of the river, and a direct contribution to flooding (Das & Samanta, 2022;Reisenbüchler et al, 2019).…”

“…These climatic impacts coupled with other site specific factors such as land degradation and poor solid waste management (Akay et al, 2020;Petersson et al, 2020;Smiley & Hambati, 2020), have exacerbate the erosion and sedimentation in the Msimbazi River channel, and hence modifications of the channel morphology, including decrease river width and depth in some areas (Das & Samanta, 2022). Literature show influence of morphological changes of a river to the coveyance and carrying capacity of the river, and a direct contribution to flooding (Das & Samanta, 2022;Reisenbüchler et al, 2019). Therefore, a better understanding of morphological changes of river channel, particularly channel changes through erosion and sedimention processes, as well as techniques to detect such changes would be useful for effective planning and management of erosion and hence bank flooding along the Msimbazi River.…”