Assessment of River Erosion’s Situation on the Basis of Influence Area: A Case Study on Gaibandha, Jamalpur and Sherpur District of Bangladesh

Abstract

As Bangladesh is a land of river so she cannot but accept the river erosion. But due to many reasons the rate of river erosion is increasing day by day, so it has become a threat to many people. Riverbank erosion causes enormous and long-term socio-economic consequences mostly at riverside administrative area of Bangladesh. But all districts (an administrative unit of Bangladesh) and Upazilas (an administrative unit of Bangladesh) adjacent to the river are not well capable to serve their population through quick recovery or emergency services. People of these upazila depend on the surrounding upazila to fulfill their needs. The upazila’s capability of serving the population can be directly evaluated through identifying the influence area of the regional center. So, this study aims to define the influence areas of the regional centers and analyze the reasons behind the functional gap of adjacent upazilas. The study considered education institutions, medical facility, flood camps or shelters, and river flow as the factors contributing to Upazila’s serving capabilities. In this context, 19 upazilas of Gaibandha, Jamalpur and Sherpur Districts have been brought under consideration based on population. The data are collected from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the study is based on the Retail Gravitation Analysis Method following Reilly’s Gravitational Theory for determining the influenced area which finally has been presented with a map prepared with Geographic Information System (GIS). The influence area delineation of the regional centers finds out the regional gap in between the adjacent upazilas. This study indicates that the unserved areas cannot serve the people or residents during river erosion rather it creates a burden to the served areas. So, the local authority and government may take the necessary steps to solve this issue.