Volume : III, Issue : III, March - 2013

Vulnerability of Char Dwellers to Flood Hazards � A Case Study in Two Chars in Murshidabad District, West Bengal

Swati Mollah

Abstract :

Poverty and vulnerability to environmental hazards go hand in hand. The poor are forced to shift to the more flood–prone environments due to least monetary cost of settlement. If poverty itself is one of most factors causing vulnerability, then vulnerability to flood hazard is now considered not only as a product of physical location but as a product of social condition also. The most vulnerable are low–income people, migrants, those living in fragile houses, those living without insurance or financial reserves, elderly people and infirm people. The chars are extremely vulnerable to both erosion and flood hazards due to their proximity to river. The effects of riverbank erosion and widening of the river channel on the people living in chars have remained significant. This paper aims to analyze the flood–hazard–vulnerability of the inhabitants of two chars in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The study is primarily based on field survey data. This study will help detail analysis of the flood problem in the char areas and demand the attention of the administration regarding the rehabilitation.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

Swati Mollah Vulnerability of Char Dwellers to Flood Hazards � A Case Study in Two Chars in Murshidabad District, West Bengal Indian Journal of Applied Research, Vol.III, Issue.III March 2013

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