The Nadia Rivers: Transition to Transformation

This book addresses ‘A to Z’ of Nadia Rivers including their etymology, mythology, geology, hydro-geomorphology, ecology, and socio-economic perspectives with an emphasis on the restoration of the environmental flow of the rivers through ecological modeling and Integrated River Basin Management. Since the foundation of Kolkata (1690) as the business capital of the East India Company, and the inception of colonial rule of the then British Government in eastern India (1765), Nadia Rivers (Bhagirathi, Jalangi, and Mathabhanga) were found to serve as the most important inland trading routes till the 1st quarter of the 20th century. Nadia Rivers also played significant roles in supplying drinking and irrigation water, besides promoting fishing, and recreation. However, the natural forcing in the form of neotectonic movements and anthropogenic influx in the form of rapid agricultural and urban-industrial expansion perturbed this river system to such as extent that they often fail to provide the basic hydro-geomorphic and ecological services inducing grave consequences on the life and livelihoods of the local people especially the farmers and fishermen.