Abstract
The Ganges, upstream of Farakka Barrage in the Malda district has been experiencing extensive erosion along the left bank even though it has been strongly protected. However, the erosion problem is not only restricted to the upstream section; it is widespread throughout its course in West Bengal. Hence, the risk of river bank erosion in the riparian state is increasing day by day due to changing land use patterns. In the current study, a household-level assessment of the impact of river bank erosion has been done. 600 households were surveyed for the study to assess the impact of river bank erosion on the socio-economic condition of affected people. The assessment was carried out by comparing socio-economic status before and after river bank erosion. Up to 1990, 19 households out of 600 got affected by river bank erosion, while during 1991 and 2000, the number of households who experienced the loss had increased to 424, whereas in between 2001 and 2010, the number declined to 124, and with the subsequent years of 2011–2018, it further reduced to 33. Till 1990, people who suffered river bank erosion were less affected while during 1991–2000, the reduction in average monthly income reflected the disaster’s impact. In comparison to the previous two time series, the reduction in 2001–2010 was greater. On the other hand, among all the time series, the reduction in mean monthly income from 2011 to 2018 was the greatest. As a result, it can be said that the affected people’s income rate had recovered over time. The recent river bank erosion gave residents, a greater negative impact on monthly income. Among 600 households, 92.16% household lost their agricultural land due to river bank erosion. The overall change from kacha house to semi pucca was 38.20%, and the change from semi pucca to kacha was 1.5%. The rebuilt from semi pucca to kacha was 0.20%. The difference between kacha and pucca was 1.5%. Only 0.20% of the 600 homes were converted from pucca to semi-kacha. Hence, the study revealed that due to river bank erosion, people were affected in terms of every socio-economic aspect.
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Sarif, M.N. et al. (2022). Household-Based Approach to Assess the Impact of River Bank Erosion on the Socio-economic Condition of People: A Case Study of Lower Ganga Plain. In: Sajjad, H., Siddiqui, L., Rahman, A., Tahir, M., Siddiqui, M.A. (eds) Challenges of Disasters in Asia. Springer Natural Hazards. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3567-1_7
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