36 CHAPTER - THREE HYDRO-MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT 3.0 INTRODUCTION The science of hydromorphology involves the developmental of a conceptual basis for improving our understanding of the impact of human on land and water resources. Water is considered to be one of the most important attribute of earth with which human being carve upon the land according to his demand. Land is a broad, holistic concept in natural science. It involves specific surface area and therefore it is truly a geographical concept. “ A tract of land is defined geographically as a specific area of the earth’s surface; its characteristics embrace all reasonably stable, or predictably cyclic attributes of the biosphere vertically above and below this area including those of the atmosphere, the soil and underlying rocks, the topography, the water, the plants and animal population and the result of past and present human activities, to the extent that these attributes exert a significant influence on present and future uses of land by man” (Christan and Stewart in Roy et.al., 1968; Man. B and Smith, 1973). 2 Dressler et.al. (2006) had defined hydrology and morphology together as hydromorphology has issue related with structure, evolution, and dynamic morphology of hydrologic systems over years, decades and centuries. The subject Hydromorphology mainly highlighted societal challenges, growing demand of population, pervasive anthropological impact on environmental and water system. Very few water shed is natural or un-impacted hydrologic condition in this present decade. Dependence on water shed is a source of uncertainty and non- stationary. The critical use of land by human beings; through challenges in front of engineers that how to adjust water systems through modification to the landscape; water infrastructure and climate and again reshaping water system. Earlier from chapter two it is clear that fresh sweet water is nectar on Earth. It is like the blood in human body. In this work we will discuss the anthropological impact
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CHAPTER - THREE
HYDRO-MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The science of hydromorphology involves the developmental of a conceptual
basis for improving our understanding of the impact of human on land and water
resources. Water is considered to be one of the most important attribute of earth with
which human being carve upon the land according to his demand. Land is a broad,
holistic concept in natural science. It involves specific surface area and therefore it is
truly a geographical concept. “ A tract of land is defined geographically as a specific
area of the earth’s surface; its characteristics embrace all reasonably stable, or
predictably cyclic attributes of the biosphere vertically above and below this area
including those of the atmosphere, the soil and underlying rocks, the topography, the
water, the plants and animal population and the result of past and present human
activities, to the extent that these attributes exert a significant influence on present and
future uses of land by man” (Christan and Stewart in Roy et.al., 1968; Man. B and
Smith, 1973). 2 Dressler et.al. (2006) had defined hydrology and morphology together
as hydromorphology has issue related with structure, evolution, and dynamic
morphology of hydrologic systems over years, decades and centuries. The subject
Hydromorphology mainly highlighted societal challenges, growing demand of
population, pervasive anthropological impact on environmental and water system. Very
few water shed is natural or un-impacted hydrologic condition in this present decade.
Dependence on water shed is a source of uncertainty and non- stationary. The critical
use of land by human beings; through challenges in front of engineers that how to adjust
water systems through modification to the landscape; water infrastructure and climate
and again reshaping water system.
Earlier from chapter two it is clear that fresh sweet water is nectar on Earth. It is
like the blood in human body. In this work we will discuss the anthropological impact
37
on ground water and its effect on hydrology and morphology in the entire Murshidabad
district.
HYDROLOGY + MORPHOLOGY = HYDROMORPHOLOGY
FIELD OF STUDY
HYDROLOGY STRUCTURAL
GEOLOGY
EVOLUTION OF
LAND FORMS TIME
ANTHROPOLIGYCAL
FACTORS
DYNAMIC
LANDUSE
PHYSICAL FIELD CULTURAL FIELD
HYDROMORPHOLOGY
3.1 GEOLOGY
3A. Mitra had presented a geological classification in Gazateer of 1979.The
geological formation is broadly classified into three parts viz. a) recent alluvium, b)
Pleistocene- recent older alluvium and lateritic clay and c) Jurassic Rajmahal Trap.
a) Recent alluvium: The ‘‘bagri’’ region of the district is occupied by recent
alluvium. The soil is mainly composed of sands and clays brought by the rivers.
All types of soils are fertile and produce all kinds of crops.
b) Pleistocene- recent older alluvium and lateritic clay: A major part of the ‘‘rarh’
region that is the western part of the river Bhagirathi is occupied by older
alluvium and lateritic clay. It may be the continuation of the sub-Vindhyan
region of lateritic clay and nodular limestone. The ‘kankar’ (the beds of
limestone) are scattered at places in this western part.
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c) Jurassic Rajmahal Trap: The northern part of the district consists of basaltic lava
which flowed with intercalated, carbonaceous shale and clays. The basalt is a
black- coloured, fine- grained amygdaloidal rock. The amygdales are filled with
chalcedony, calcite, zeolite and other secondary minerals.
Similarly, Asis Bhatacharya and S.N. Banerjee in 1979 had presented a
classification of the Ajay- Bhagirathi Valley in the Indian Journal of Earth Science
(vol.6 no.1). Their study area was divided into four surfacial geomorphic plains a)
Lateric upland, b) Older deltaic Plain, c) Younger Deltaic Plain and d) Bhagirathi
Recent Surface.
The Quaternary sediments have been classified as:
Table no: 3.i Geomorphic subdivision and its characteristics
Geological time
scale
Geomorphic
subdivision Morphological characteristics
Recent Pleistocene
Younger Deltaic Plain
formation (YDP)
• River terrace sediments
• Alluvial sediments with soil
containing soft ferruginous nodules
Older Deltaic Plain
Formation (ODP)
• Alluvial sediments with soil
containing calcareous nodules
Lateritic Formation • Hard lateritic and mottled clay with
underlying alluvial sediments
Source: Compiled by the scholar from A. Bhattacharya & S.N. Banerjee (1979).
3.2 GEOMORPHOLOGY
Hiuen Tsang’s accounted about ‘Karnasuvarna’ situated just almost twenty
kilometers away from present Berhampore sadar town, that the inhabitants were very
rich. The moist low land helped in regular farming, flowers and fruits. The climate was
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temperate and the people were of good character and were patrons of learning
(Gazetteer, 1979; by A. Mitra, pp: 32).
Asis Bhatacharya and S.N. Banerjee in 1979 had classified the Ajay Bhagirathi
valley in to four geomorphic plain. A) Lateritic Upland or Ilambazar plain, b) Older
Deltaic Plain or Rampurhat Plain, c) Younger Deltaic Plain or Kandi Plain and d)
Bhagirathi recent surface. The District Murshidabad lies generally within the Younger
Deltaic Plain or Kandi Plain and the Bhagirathi Recent Surface.
The river Bhagirathi, flowing from north to south through the district had divided the
area into almost two equal halves, namely ‘rarh’ and ‘bagri’. The tract to the west of the
river is locally known as ‘rarh’ and the tract to the east as ‘bagri’.
The east of Bhagirathi is low-lying and alluvial. The climate is humid and the
land is liable to flood by the spill of the Bhagirathi and other rivers. The soil is
amazingly fertile. On the western side, the relief is higher than the eastern part and the
surface is undulating. The soil is hard clay. The climate is drier than in the eastern tract.
Although the western tract or the ‘rarh’ is slightly high and undulating than the eastern
tract ‘bagri’, the land is interspersed with numerous swamps and paleo-channels. The
greatest elevation in the western boundary is near the border of the Birbhum district, i.e.
Khargram, Burwan, Nabagram and Sagardighi block.
The Young Deltaic Plain or Kandi Plain is a terrace like plain. This plain varies
from 6 kilometers in the north to 38 kilometers in the south and the average slope is 0.6
meters per kilometers. The plain becomes narrower near Jangipur and widens towards
Berhampore. In the east of Kandi the patches of Older Deltaic Plain blended into Young
Deltaic Plain and in few areas the Older Deltaic Plain underlies the Young Deltaic
Plain. The fan like younger delta of Mayurakhi forms terraces. The radiating channel
pattern with natural levees on each bank is well preserved. Interestingly large filled
valley-cuts are found near the junction of Older Deltaic Plain and the Bhagirathi recent
surface. The sedimentary structures are common in Young Deltaic Plain. The fluviatile
land forms are like ox-bow lakes, levees, meanders, etc. also preserved.
The Bhagirathi recent surface is confined into the present day channels and their
immediate vicinity. The belt of terrace is 3-5 kilometers in width with slope 0.2 meters
per kilometers. The land is very low in some places and there is a sharp break present
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between Young Deltaic Plain and the Bhagirathi recent surface (e.g. flood plain
between Bhagirathi and Dwarka River). The surface is composed of loose and
completely unconsolidated sediments structures. The river Bhagirathi meanders
strongly between Jangipur and Berhampore police station. Geologist assumes that the
river is a misfit and likely to be an ancient course of the Ganges. Big meanders scars,
cut off, abandoned channels and levees are some of the examples of preservation of
landforms. Presently the river courses are oscillating frequently (blocks like Suti-I, Suti-
II, Raghunathganj-I, Lalgola and Bhagawangola-I are mainly affected).
The older landforms are exposed to erosion; therefore, the land forms of the
younger ones are better preserved. The land form near rivers are cut to produce
geomorphically younger plain which is filled by sediments of the younger plain,
through ‘tongue’ gradually close the older plain. This is how an oscillating river
maintains the sequence from oldest to youngest as Lateritic Upland -Older Deltaic