Colonization Processes on the Lower Damodar Riverbed

Abstract

The Damodar riverbed has been colonized in different phases since 1947, mostly by Bangladeshi refugees. They are self-alienated refugees who have rejected the dole-sustained existence in government-sponsored refugee camps and opted, instead, for life on the controlled riverbed. After India achieved independence in 1947, fuller utilization of the river resources was needed to solve socio-economic problems. At the same time, the partition of India initiated large scale migration, particularly of Hindus from both West and East Pakistan (Present Bangladesh). Of all the refugee-receiving states in India, West Bengal had the maximum number of refugees, a problem that was aggravated after the Bangladesh War of 1970 when there was a fresh influx of refugees from independent Bangladesh. In both phases, a significant number of Bangladeshi refugees selected the riverbeds of West Bengal as their second home. The Lower Damodar bed is one such riverbed. It has been permanently occupied by these Bangladeshi refugees and has become a major resource base for them. The flood of September 1978 also initiated a desperate migration of locals from the flood-affected areas of Medinipur and Hooghly districts to the adjacent riverine sandbars. Control structures on the river have brought many changes to the riverbed environment and the refugees are constantly struggling with this changed environment for their survival.