These castes would be prone to higher damages due to their constrained coping
capacity in terms of their limited access to information, economic opportunities and
seclusion from society. All four study villages have backward castes whereas
Bagbahali is a tribal village where ninety 8 % of the sample households belong to
Gond tribe.
7.1.2 Social Domain
Social networking and societal integration play an important role in motivating
households to face natural disasters. As noted by Thomalla et al. (2006), the most
vulnerable people to natural hazards are those with inadequate access to social
capital (e.g. networks, information, relationships). Information related to social
features linked with vulnerability to climate change is presented in Table 4. Results
indicate that Sirabahal is the most vulnerable village with respect to social domain
(index score of 0.7). As the access to social networks increase, households found
themselves less vulnerable to shocks as their ability to cope with risks becomes high
(Lokshin and Yemtsov 2001). The highest percentage of households who seek
assistance from NGO/SHGs was in Bilaikani village. In Sirabahal village, there was
no NGO/SHG to help the villagers.
Respondents in the study area have fairly easy access to informal credit system
given by a higher value for its index whereas the access to banking system is
somewhat constrained. In the absence of or constrained access to formal credit
system, informal system is laden with some drawbacks such as higher interest rates.
Credit surveys in many developing countries have concluded that non-institutional
credit system like money lenders, landlords, traders, etc., charge very high rate of
interest than those charged by institutional lenders like banks (Chakrabarty and
Chaudhuri 2001). Bilaikani village had the highest index value for the percentage of
household which had no access to banks. Most of the migrant households in the
study villages had access to bank as the migrant family members send remittances
to their families through banks. As Bilaikani had the least number of households
with migrants, access to the banking system was found to be lower.
Bagbahali village had the least percent of households (29 %) with no access to
school. People belonging to remote rural areas have meagre incomes. Children from
Table 4 Index values for social domain and its sub domains in the study area
Sub domains/major domain
Sirabahal Bilaikani Aintalunga Bagbahali
Households seeking no assistance from
NGOs/SHGs
1.000
0.327
0.727
0.745
Households with access to money lenders
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
Households with no access to banks
0.455
0.673
0.436
0.436
Households with no school access
0.345
0.636
0.327
0.291
Social
0.700
0.659
0.623
0.618
418
A.S. Sam et al.
capacity in terms of their limited access to information, economic opportunities and
seclusion from society. All four study villages have backward castes whereas
Bagbahali is a tribal village where ninety 8 % of the sample households belong to
Gond tribe.
7.1.2 Social Domain
Social networking and societal integration play an important role in motivating
households to face natural disasters. As noted by Thomalla et al. (2006), the most
vulnerable people to natural hazards are those with inadequate access to social
capital (e.g. networks, information, relationships). Information related to social
features linked with vulnerability to climate change is presented in Table 4. Results
indicate that Sirabahal is the most vulnerable village with respect to social domain
(index score of 0.7). As the access to social networks increase, households found
themselves less vulnerable to shocks as their ability to cope with risks becomes high
(Lokshin and Yemtsov 2001). The highest percentage of households who seek
assistance from NGO/SHGs was in Bilaikani village. In Sirabahal village, there was
no NGO/SHG to help the villagers.
Respondents in the study area have fairly easy access to informal credit system
given by a higher value for its index whereas the access to banking system is
somewhat constrained. In the absence of or constrained access to formal credit
system, informal system is laden with some drawbacks such as higher interest rates.
Credit surveys in many developing countries have concluded that non-institutional
credit system like money lenders, landlords, traders, etc., charge very high rate of
interest than those charged by institutional lenders like banks (Chakrabarty and
Chaudhuri 2001). Bilaikani village had the highest index value for the percentage of
household which had no access to banks. Most of the migrant households in the
study villages had access to bank as the migrant family members send remittances
to their families through banks. As Bilaikani had the least number of households
with migrants, access to the banking system was found to be lower.
Bagbahali village had the least percent of households (29 %) with no access to
school. People belonging to remote rural areas have meagre incomes. Children from
Table 4 Index values for social domain and its sub domains in the study area
Sub domains/major domain
Sirabahal Bilaikani Aintalunga Bagbahali
Households seeking no assistance from
NGOs/SHGs
1.000
0.327
0.727
0.745
Households with access to money lenders
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
Households with no access to banks
0.455
0.673
0.436
0.436
Households with no school access
0.345
0.636
0.327
0.291
Social
0.700
0.659
0.623
0.618
418
A.S. Sam et al.