The shifting courses of the Ganges and resultant bank-erosion in Malda and Murshidabad: Analyzing its impact on life of the people in a historical perspective

part where the districts of Malda and Murshidabad are situated. With these, the landscape of the affected areas changed over years. From 12th Century onwards the shifting courses of the Ganges can be traced which compelled various ancient rulers of Bengal to shift their capitals and this involved the process of shifting the population also. However, in long course of time this shifting tendency of the Ganges took much more severe form and river-bank erosion occurred. According to various official records, this river-bank erosion which occurred initially around the late 19th Century, got largely accelerated in the late 20th Century. This huge increase in the rate of river-bank erosion in this area was caused by the construction of the Farakka Barrage. The barrage altered the river-flow in such a way that the river found liberation through eroding the bank which resulted in bring in huge difficulties for the people, living in the adjacent areas. How the courses of the Ganges went through various changes in past that have been continued later also and how it has been affecting the life of the people involved, are highlighted in this paper. This persistent erosion has forced the people to be displaced, thus posed a challenge to sustainable development by harming the regional stability. Addressing the issue requires integrated river basin management.