Challenges of rejuvenating a river in West Bengal

By Debanjan Bagchi*

Once riverine West Bengal has presently lost its lifeline, which is rivers. It is presently one of the worst victims of climate change. This can be easily traced from rising numbers of migrating labour as well as displaced citizens. While it appears people are moving to other states for better income, if we dig deeper, actually they are ‘climate refugees.

Jalangi: The most mysterious river

From the Murshidabad district, Jalangi has a meandering course of almost 220 km. During one of its southerly turns, the river crosses Krishnanagar, a district town. Thereafter the river proceeds to the west and after the journey, Jalangi debouches in Ganga, beside Mayapur (known for ISKCON temple and shrines) in Nadia district.

For three centuries records have spotted many changes in the Jalangi river course. This becomes evident if we compare the latest satellite images with Bengal Atlas (1780) of J. Rennell or Atlas of India maps (1855-56). We call this river the most mysterious river because of the intense meandering. Surprisingly, the course has hardly shifted recently. The entire area has many ox-bow lakes, meander scars and water bodies near the main course. The colonial-era maps of the eighteenth and nineteenth century show the width of the Jalangi was at par with the Bhagirathi river. The situation changed a couple of centuries ago and presently showing a decaying trend. 

The Jalangi Nodi Samaj

Jalangi Nodi Samaj is a group of people who are working for the river Jalangi for the last one and half years. The river got its name during the 18th century. We are from Krishnanagar, which is in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Nadia used to be famous in past for ‘Nadi, or rivers. During British colonial rule, three rivers in Gangetic Bengal were known as Nadia Rivers. These are River Bhagirathi, River Mathabhanga and River Jalangi. River Jalangi is a distributary of Padma. Ganga, after crossing Rajmahal hills and from Farakka dam, has been divided into two parts. These are Bhagirathi and Padma. Bhagirathi flows towards Kolkata, whereas the Padma has chosen its route towards Bangladesh to reach the Bay of Bengal.

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Jalangi is known as the lifeline of Nadia and Murshidabad districts. These two districts have a total population of one crore and 25 lakh, but the condition of the river has been consistently ignored by the state and central government for decades. Out of a total 233 Kilometer long course of Jalangi, a 130 Kilometer stretch is through the Nadia, and so this river is the most important ‘Nadia River ‘in the true sense.

Presently the Padma is moving far from Jalangi and the main flow is showing a northbound direction. This has resulted in an irregular supply of water towards Jalangi. So, the river has now become a palaeo-channel due to the deposition of silt upstream. Jalangi gets her life back during the monsoon. Otherwise, the river suffers from a lack of supply of water during the drier part of the year (February to May).

Jalangi River gets some water from the Bhairab River. Technically there is hardly any difference between River Bhairab and Jalangi. The lower part of the Bhairab River is actually Jalangi.

Can Jalangi River survive?

The main problem is presently silt discharge which prevents water supply to enter through the course of Jalangi. So to rejuvenate the river we need water, which Bangladesh will not give us as they are also suffering from scarcity of freshwater. If the water supply is not there we will have to wait for the Padma indefinitely, till it takes any southward movement. Otherwise, the river will die. Apart from this, there are also other issues as well:

• The river is suffering from unsustainable fishing techniques. There are hundreds of illegal bamboo fencings. These fencings are called ‘Badhal,’ which is creating wealth for a few goons, but at the cost of thousands of poor fishermen. Fishermen are being forced to switch to alternate professions like daily labourers in brickfields, rickshaw pullers and daily wage earners. With few skills, they subsequently move to other states or turn to beg. This is under the purview of police and administration.
• Presently 44 varieties of fish can be found in rivers. Many fishes are on verge of extinction including the Ganga River Dolphin. Immediate attention on this point and intervention of fishery department is needed.
• Adjacent villages and towns have no sewerage treatment plants (STPs). Drains are dumping hazardous effluents in the river. Another significant source of water pollution is idol immersion. We should have enclosed waterbodies where all idols should be immersed. Since Jalangi connects the Ganges, these are going to the Ganges, which can be connected with the Central Government’s “Nirmal Ganga” plan. This comes under the urban development department.
• Over the years, the first 48 km of the river has silted and has been encroached by local musclemen repeatedly. The river is under the purview of the state government irrigation department, but officers are not at all attentive on these issues.
• Sediment quarrying from the riverbank.
• The dry river bed is making the river shallow and deteriorating constantly.
• Unsustainable commercial activities like soil and sand cutting by brickfields from banks, as well as beds of River Jalangi. This multiplies silt discharge on the riverbed. These can be stopped with the help of the Police.
• The presence of water hyacinth due to the eutrophication (possibly), this step needs the attention of the irrigation department.

 The Jalangi River activists

Our country is about to experience 4.5 crores, climate refugees, very shortly, yet the issue has not featured in the manifesto of any political agenda of any political party. Whenever politicians talk about development,’ they come up with some idea which affects environment or biodiversity adversely. Only a few activists and volunteers keep worrying about mother nature. It appears that this gloomy situation is here to stay and so, the question arises: Is it the time for environmental activists to form their own political party?

This is the question, which we discuss amongst ourselves during meetings of Jalangi Nodi Samaj.

A river activist must understand the river. For the betterment of the river, one has to know the river beyond text. The best way is to interact with villagers who know the river better than urban people. So, we keep visiting riverside areas, try to convey their issues and problems to the government offices and also have taken public awareness program. Although it is difficult to opine anything based only on 1.5 years’ experience, still there are a few points that can be discussed in this context.

• Although Ganga and Jamuna have the same legal status as human beings no river can cast its vote. As the river has no voting rights, politicians are reluctant to discuss the river.
• There are many government offices. They are supposedly responsible for several aspects of the river, but nobody is interested to see the bigger picture. Not concerned about the deteriorating condition of the river as a whole.
• In many places rivers are treasured by citizens, examples start from the Thames and will include many names. Jalangi is too unfortunate to have such people along its bank. People are not ready to think about rivers or the environment.
• Lack of manpower is there whereas there are lots of works to be done. Our group consists of a limited number of working individuals, who all are either employed or in business. We hardly find people who are interested to participate on their own and we need lots of participants.

Thankfully, all of the activists are having different political ideologies and are respectful of each other’s views. So, from the very beginning, we have avoided following any political party’s agenda or belief but we are very much into politics. On one hand we keep going to villages, on the other hand, we regularly visit local politicians. Especially whenever an election comes, we ask candidates in front of the camera – what he is thinking about the environment, is he aware of how many water bodies are there in his locality, will he assure his voters that there will be no further reduction as far as the water bodies are concerned. Our goal is to do something by virtue of which, political parties will spend some words on the environment while printing their manifesto.

Before the last West Bengal assembly elections, we met major political candidates. We gave them a list of contemporary issues of the river, where an MLA can only do something. We asked them what they are planning to do for the river and environment if they win. It was taken seriously. One major party put Jalangi in the first position on her to-do list with the next five years’ commitment. This was also a pleasant moment for us, we have never seen any political party keep the environment on its first priority.

The Jalangi Nodi Samaj has worked only for one and half years, yet it has achieved few of its targets. There is heightened awareness amongst the people.

Illegal bamboo fencing was one of our prime targets and our hard work has yielded somewhat result. Recently after repeated follow-ups administration has removed a few bamboo fencing. We are expecting others will be removed as well shortly. This we treat as one of our achievements as such fencings are very common in West Bengal, but nobody has ever succeeded to sensitize government bodies/administration so vibrantly.

Political parties are now talking about rivers and the environment. As far as the question of rejuvenating the river is concerned, we certainly have miles to go. Every day we try to do something new and ask for feedback.

*The writer is an employed professional and a river activist.