x
highlights the adaptation strategies, capacity and resilience of the people ravaged by
the estuarine and riverine erosions and consequently displaced from livelihood and
habitat, and investigates human coping mechanisms under adverse climatic and
geo-hydrological systems.
‘Flood Frequency Analysis and its Management in the District of Bardhaman,
West Bengal’ (Chap. 13) has been carried out by Subodh Chandra Pal, Biswajit Das,
Sadhan Malik, Manisa Shit and Rabin Chakrabortty (Bardhaman) with focus on the
application of statistics and GIS for the management of flood in Ketugram-I and II
C.D. Blocks of Bardhaman District, West Bengal. They suggested useful measures
like channel diversion, channel improvement and planting of vegetation. This management plan can minimize the magnitude of flood and eventually save the floodaffected people in the area.
‘Spatio-temporal Extent of Agricultural Drought in West Bengal’ (Chap. 14),
authored by Mou Dey, Dipanwita Dutta and Abira Dutta Roy (Midnapore and
Bankura, respectively), is another important contribution of this book. This study
focused on the application of remote sensing and GIS for monitoring the spatiotemporal extent of agricultural drought over West Bengal, especially in its western districts. The authors considered, over the years, preparing indices for assessment of
crop condition and used various techniques like VCI (Vegetation condition Index),
NOAA, STAR, RAI (Rainfall Anomaly Index), and Yield Anomaly Index (YAI),
which may be helpful for further research.
Chapter 15 on ‘Drought Induced Human Mobility in Purulia District of West
Bengal’, written by Shrinwantu Raha and Shasanka Kumar Gayen (Cooch Behar),
is also an interesting and useful addition to this book. This chapter addresses four
key areas: the first section deals with hazard hotspot zone identification based on
Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), the second section deals with the livelihood
turmoil due to drought-induced water stresses, the third section deals with the fluctuation of labour pattern and scenario of migration, and the final section deals with
optimality and feasibility study with respect to demands of the migrants.
The work of Sourav Saha, N. Deka and A. K. Bhagabati (Gauhati) on ‘Traditional
Water Management and Agricultural Sustainability in a HimalayanFoothill Village
of Assam’ (Chap. 16) is based on field work from a village in Baksa District, Assam.
They studied the water management system followed traditionally by the people of
the locality and examined the situation in the context of indigenous knowledge system and sustainable development of the area.
N. C. Jana and Manas Pal (Bardhaman) contributed an interesting article (Chap.
17) on the topic ‘Management of Wastelands in the Chotanagpur Plateau Fringe –
Lessons from a Village Level Study in the District of Birbhum, West Bengal’. In this
chapter they selected four sample villages as representative of four different categories of wastelands and analysed information to reveal environmental control on concentration of different types of wastelands as well as their close association with
each other and with the other forms of land use practices.
Preface
highlights the adaptation strategies, capacity and resilience of the people ravaged by
the estuarine and riverine erosions and consequently displaced from livelihood and
habitat, and investigates human coping mechanisms under adverse climatic and
geo-hydrological systems.
‘Flood Frequency Analysis and its Management in the District of Bardhaman,
West Bengal’ (Chap. 13) has been carried out by Subodh Chandra Pal, Biswajit Das,
Sadhan Malik, Manisa Shit and Rabin Chakrabortty (Bardhaman) with focus on the
application of statistics and GIS for the management of flood in Ketugram-I and II
C.D. Blocks of Bardhaman District, West Bengal. They suggested useful measures
like channel diversion, channel improvement and planting of vegetation. This management plan can minimize the magnitude of flood and eventually save the floodaffected people in the area.
‘Spatio-temporal Extent of Agricultural Drought in West Bengal’ (Chap. 14),
authored by Mou Dey, Dipanwita Dutta and Abira Dutta Roy (Midnapore and
Bankura, respectively), is another important contribution of this book. This study
focused on the application of remote sensing and GIS for monitoring the spatiotemporal extent of agricultural drought over West Bengal, especially in its western districts. The authors considered, over the years, preparing indices for assessment of
crop condition and used various techniques like VCI (Vegetation condition Index),
NOAA, STAR, RAI (Rainfall Anomaly Index), and Yield Anomaly Index (YAI),
which may be helpful for further research.
Chapter 15 on ‘Drought Induced Human Mobility in Purulia District of West
Bengal’, written by Shrinwantu Raha and Shasanka Kumar Gayen (Cooch Behar),
is also an interesting and useful addition to this book. This chapter addresses four
key areas: the first section deals with hazard hotspot zone identification based on
Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), the second section deals with the livelihood
turmoil due to drought-induced water stresses, the third section deals with the fluctuation of labour pattern and scenario of migration, and the final section deals with
optimality and feasibility study with respect to demands of the migrants.
The work of Sourav Saha, N. Deka and A. K. Bhagabati (Gauhati) on ‘Traditional
Water Management and Agricultural Sustainability in a HimalayanFoothill Village
of Assam’ (Chap. 16) is based on field work from a village in Baksa District, Assam.
They studied the water management system followed traditionally by the people of
the locality and examined the situation in the context of indigenous knowledge system and sustainable development of the area.
N. C. Jana and Manas Pal (Bardhaman) contributed an interesting article (Chap.
17) on the topic ‘Management of Wastelands in the Chotanagpur Plateau Fringe –
Lessons from a Village Level Study in the District of Birbhum, West Bengal’. In this
chapter they selected four sample villages as representative of four different categories of wastelands and analysed information to reveal environmental control on concentration of different types of wastelands as well as their close association with
each other and with the other forms of land use practices.
Preface