by Jaideep Mazumdar

Rivers nurture life. But they also destroy human habitation. The holy Ganges is doing exactly this in West Bengal's Malda and Murshidabad districts.

Over the past decade, the river has lopped off more than 20,500 hectares and obliterated 25 villages in Malda. In neighbouring Murshidabad, the river has eroded more than 500 sq km, including 24 villages and parts of at least seven other villages.

Every monsoon, the river swells and swallows large swathes of land in the two districts. More than half of Taltali village in Murshidabad has been lost since last year. The residents, judging by the river's wrath, said the entire village would disappear by next month. The river wasn't that patient—just a few days after Outlook visited Taltali, almost the entire village was washed away on Independence Day.

"We had a large plot of land where we grew paddy, jute and pulses. We also had a large orchard full of mango and papaya trees.

Not just the land, erosion has hit the family too. Men have moved to cities in search of a livelihood.

The river used to flow a km away from our house in 2000. In 2001, it started changing course and was flowing about 300 meters away. Our fears came true the next year, we constructed a mud house further inland. Last year, we had to shift again since the river came closer.

"I've only half an acre of land left now. I'm ruined," says Ramapada Sil, father of three. He lost whatever was left of his land on Independence Day.

Statistics speak only half the truth. The misery that the river has inflicted on about 2.15 lakh people is beyond description. The tales of woe, penury and utter devastation are the same everywhere. Visit any riverside village and scores will line up along the banks to point out to the river and show the spots where their houses and land once stood. Hutments and tents dot both sides of the roads leading from Malda and Behrampore to the erosion-affected areas. "Those who could find work as daily-wagers have stayed on. But work is scarce here and most of the men have moved away to Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai in search of a livelihood. Their families have stayed back. A lot of these women and girls have been forced into prostitution and 'work' in faraway cities. Their plight is miserable," said Pranab Das, a cpi(m) leader from Malda. Adds Chitralekha Dutta Gupta, a professor of sociology at Behrampore College: "The erosion has caused a social disaster of unimaginable proportions. With the loss of land and livelihood, families have broken up. Communities have been fragmented. The social structure has broken down."

River experts blame the Ganga's propensity to change course so frequently once it enters West Bengal on the Farakka barrage, the embankments and spurs that have been constructed since the 1960s to tame the river. "Rivers always change course, but they do so very slowly. Humans tried to restrict the flow of the Ganga in Bengal and this is the price that is being paid," says Kalyan Rudra, a river expert. According to him, a circuit embankment constructed at Bhutni Dara island, 60 km upstream of the Farakka Barrage, is the primary reason for the river going wild.

The central or state governments have done precious little. Though funds have been sanctioned annually to pave the riverbanks with boulders, corrupt politicians, engineers of the irrigation department and contractors have pocketed most of the funds. Also, work usually starts during the monsoon season. Boulders offloaded on the banks of the river to check erosion get washed away. This year, work began in February but picked up only after the erosion started. Too little too late.
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Source: Outlook India