Maldah and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal, India have suffered massive riverbank erosion since the 70's. Every year, During the monsoon, Several villages and agricultural land are lost in the Ganga. According to a study in 2008, More than 700000 people in these two districts have been displaced due to Ganga bank erosion. The river has so far eroded more than 500 Square km of fertile land from the districts of Murshidabad and Maldah. Every year, hundreds of families become homeless and impoverished overnight when their villages and lands are washed away in the river. Men migrated to other states for daily labourer jobs while women had to run their families all by themselves on meagre earnings. The children drop out of school to support their families and become child labourers. It may seem like a natural ordeal, but the truth lies with the Farakka Barrage constructed here to divert water to revive the Kolkata Port. As the natural flow halts, due to excessive siltation, the river attempts to recourse its path through adjacent riverine villages portraying the human cost of so-called progress disguised as an environmental disaster.
Hanging Home
A man helps dismantle a partially destroyed house by the progressing Ganga river in Dhuliyan West Bengal
The thirsting water
An areal shot of Lalpur West Bengal which was hit by massive erosion on 11th October 2021 36 families became homeless when a 300-meter-long road and six houses were washed away
Second Site
A man bathes by the construction site of the second bridge of the controversial Farakka barrage on the river Ganga India It is often cited in geographical studies that the Farakka barrage significantly altered the natural morphology of the river Ganges in this region resulting in erosion in the adjacent villages br
Precious Bricks
A woman and a child try to salvage bricks from the foundation of a destroyed home in West Bengal India People often dismantle their own houses to collect bricks and move to another secure location in fear of erosion
Child Labors
Children work as laborers in a brick worksite in Murshidabad India Murshidabad has one of the highest populations of child labor in West Bengal and many of them come from erosion-prone areas
Friend and foe
A young man uses water from a hand pump menacingly close to the river The hungry river often swallows public utilities leaving the population fighting for basic resources
Make-shift
Juli Bibi 33 with her son poses for a portrait in a bamboo-enclosed makeshift shelter dangerously close to the advancing river She lost her home and landed on the river side overnight during the monsoon of 2020
Anti-erosion Work
Department of Irrigation of West Bengal state tries to curb the river erosion with sandbags in Manikchak West Bengal Villagers often blame anti-erosion work as subpar and untimely due to rampant corruption
From one bank to another
A child walks through a temporary Neo-refugee colony in Manikchak West Bengal The colony was created overnight when Narayanpur village washed away and villagers had nowhere to go but to live dangerously beside the river
The child mother
A young girl cares for a child in the refugee colony of Manikchak West Bengal Girl children often become victims of child marriage due to socioeconomic reasons created by the erosion
Remaining Classroom
Children of Lalutola villages lost their school buildings in erosion in September 2021
The bed besides the river
A woman stands in a makeshift shelter near the forwarding river Ganga People who still live closer to the river are the ones who have no means to relocate further away
