River bank erosion along the Ganges in Malda and Murshidabad districts

[3] During the period 1969-1999, 4.5 lakh people were affected by left bank erosion of the Ganges in Malda district, upstream of the Farakka Barrage.

The worst-hit areas lie in the left bank of the river stretch between Bhutnidiara and Panchanandapore in the Kaliachak II block.

It had the block headquarters, high school, sugar mill and a regular weekly market where traders used to come by large boats from Rajmahal, Sahebganj, Dhuliyan and other towns.

The Ganga Bhangan Pratirodh Action Nagarik Committee’s survey revealed a loss of 750 km2 area in Kaliachak and Manikchak.

[2] The consequences of floods are of the short range as economic recovery is possible, but effects of the slow and steady disaster of river bank erosion are of permanent nature, where the entire socio-economic structure is damaged and the affected population has to move and settle somewhere else.

People seriously affected by river bank erosion in Malda have migrated in search of work to as far as Gujarat and Maharashtra.

[2] A group of experts has suggested the pressure on the left bank be reduced by diverting flow from the eroding channel.

[4] The main channel of the Ganges has a bankline of 94 km along its right bank from downstream of Farakka Barrage to Jalangi.

From a little above Nimtita, about 20 km downstream from Farakka, the Ganges flows along the international boundary with Bangladesh in the left bank.

[3][5] In August 2020, this region again faced erosion which washed away dwelling places, temples, schools, litchi and mango orchards and agricultural lands along the right bank nearly after 50 years.

[8] According to the Report on Impact of the Farakka Barrage on the Human Fabric: "People in Murshidabad had been experiencing erosion for the last two centuries but the ravages caused by the mighty Padma at Akheriganj in 1989 and 1990 surpassed all previous records.

Akheriganj disappeared from the map destroying 2,766 houses, leaving 23,394 persons homeless many of whom migrated to the newly emerged Nirmal char along the opposite bank….

At Jalangi Bazaar severe erosion started in September 1995 engulfing nearly 400 metre width of land within a week and then high built up homestead land thereby destroying Jalangi High School, Gram Panchayat Office, Thana and innumerable buildings rendering nearly 12000 people homeless.

"[3] "As per official estimate, till 1992-94 more than 10,000 hectares of chars (flood plain sediment island) have developed in main places, which have become inaccessible from the Indian side but can be reached easily from Bangladesh.

In Parliament when this issue was raised the House was assured that the boundary was fixed on the map even though the river has shifted".

From here Rajshahi city of Bangladesh can be reached within 45 minutes on road whereas to come to the mainland of India one has to cross the mighty Padma which will take more than three hours.

Instances of fighting for harvesting with Bangladeshi cultivators have been reported again and again apart from the usual problem of allotting created land to the rightful owners.

Once again, the question of Bangladeshi infiltrators, the recent fiasco over ISI agents have increased in this district due to these char areas.