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

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.