Department of Geography

Permanent URI for this collection

http://presiuniv.ndl.gov.in:4009/handle/123456789/2322

Browse

Browsing Department of Geography by Issue Date

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Agro-Economic Viability of Betel Leaf Industry - A Case Study in Tamluk Sub-Division of Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal
    Patel, Priyank Pravin
    The livelihoods of small/marginal farmers are most at risk to changing agro-climatic and agro-economic situations, especially those who cultivate high-value cash crops, which are dependent on its cultivation, marketing, continued demand and robustness of the supply chain. A systematic analysis of these aspects is thus crucial for maintaining the viability of a crop's agribusiness so that it may sustain its various stakeholders. This thesis examines the viability of the betel leaf agribusiness in Tamluk Sub-division of Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal, which is a prime centre of this crop in the country. Several statistical and econometric methods, along with geospatial techniques, have been used to fulfil the stated objectives. Results reveal that the marketing channels of this crop have changed over time, with several intermediaries now being engaged in its trading, which lessens profit margins for farmers. In all, six marketing channels were identified through which the betel leaf ultimately reaches the consumer, among which, farmers are unable to follow the most profitable one for them due to present market norms. Land and betel leaf farm (Boroj) site suitability analysis revealed the aptness or otherwise of present-day farm locations and helped identify those places where this crop's acreage can feasibly be expanded into, if farm credit and irrigation facilities are available. Economic analysis via computation of the Benefit-Cost Ratio and Net Present Value showed that betel leaf cultivation is still viable for most leaf types and sizes, except for those who cultivate small-sized Bangla leaves. Though farmers incur losses in the first year of Boroj establishment and planting of the leaf, their profit margins increase thereafter, providing them earnings till the tenth year, which is the usual lifespan of a new vine. The Mitha leaf variety is the most profitable among all leaf types, though rising input costs can lessen earnings, while Monte Carlo simulation revealed that even the cultivation of medium-sized Bangla leaf is viable. Reframing of market norms, easing the availability of credit facilities and betel leaf specific crop insurance are sorely required to assuage the effects of periodic natural hazards, with meagre government support available presently. Keywords: Betel leaf agribusiness; Supply chain; Marketing and demand; Land suitability; Market hinterland; Econometric analysis; Cultivation constraints.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Implications of Urbanisation on the Water Resources in a Planned Urban Landscape: A Case Study of New Town, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal
    Banerji, Suranjana
    The anthropocene is primarily affected by urbanisation. The developing world and its rapidly blossoming urban enclaves have amplified water "wants" inducing a global strain on the freshwater resource. Development of so-called self-sufficient urban townships" have subsequently aggravated water depletion rates. A similar situation is evident in New Town, North 24 Parganas West Bengal, which in spite of lacking a proficient freshwater source was built to create a smart township - home to a rapidly growing gated population plagued by water woes. New Town has witnessed a drastic land use and land cover change, wherein built-up surfaces have engulfed green spaces, water bodies and the old cultivated landscape. The ENDISI and WI indices on satellite imageries have helped to determine this spatio-temporal change. Urbanicity has further affected the land surface temperature (LST), as is evident through MODIS 11B3 data. Analysis of the groundwater levels, its Water Quality Index (WQI) as well as the WQI of the surface water bodies and the potable water supply helped to determine the influence of urban growth and populace. Additionally, New Town‘s ‗newness‘, its present dearth in water infrastructure provision and consequent residential grievances have been analysed to formulate conducive alternatives. Urban growth has swallowed more than 80% of the natural water-bodies. The remaining few are marginally used, left derelict or used for garbage disposal. Built-up surfaces have increased the day-time LST from 210C to 320C between 2001-02 and 2018-19, while groundwater depletion with a decadal fall of 3-4m bgl has also occurred. Its WQI highlights its un-palatability due to over-extraction and lack of recharge. Disparity in water supply is evident, as the siphoned water from the Hooghly river, once treated, becomes expensive thereby limiting its reach to villagers, residing within New Town‘s confines. Unsustainable water use occurs as villagers depend on tube-wells, submersibles at residences, or buy water. This pressurizes distant water reserves. As a solution, this study suggests resident-friendly sustainable alternatives such as Roof-top rainwater harvesting, Grey water recycling, Run-off harvesting, recreation of water bodies associated with Artificial floating Islands(AFIs), and water-efficient faucet structures for its future.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Integration of Urban Forms, Society and Governance in Planning Solar Cities of India
    Roychowdhury, Koel
    The increase in energy consumption in cities has multiplied rapidly in the past few decades, often leading to a decline in fossil-fuel based energy sources and the consequent adoption of renewable energy resources. Integration of such complex systems into the electricity generation and distribution framework requires flexibility to adopt new technologies, affordability, reliability, and continuous monitoring of new additions to the system. Promoting urban sustainability requires extensive research into the potential applications of sustainable energy technologies. It is becoming increasingly important for cities to explore ways to reduce their environmental impact, and using sustainable energy technologies is one way to achieve this. Vast research and experiments are being conducted by the cities around the world to identify the most effective ways to use these technologies to achieve environmental sustainability. One such option is the ‘solar city concept’. In case of India, this is a scheme launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to minimize 10% of the projected demand for non-renewable energy in the cities at the end of five years, through its combination with green energy sources. The programme aims to promote the use of renewable energy in urban areas by providing support to Municipal Corporations for the preparation and implementation of a road map to develop their cities as solar cities. The aim of the research is to primarily investigate the combination of different factors which promote feasibility of solar city planning in India. The research objective can be identified as follows: firstly, to identify the key driving factors of sustainability and energy efficiency of the solar cities of India which contribute to the viability of Solar Cities Missions in these cities, secondly, to examine the effectiveness of local energy planning processes in major proposed solar cities of India and finally, to delineate suitable sites in a city with an energy master plan, in order to identify any other suitable sites can be allocated for solar projects and without an energy master plan, such as to identify all suitable sites that can be allocated for solar projects. In order to fulfil these objectives, GIS based Multiple Criteria Decision Making techniques were applied. The datasets were of both primary and secondary in nature and the results imply that Indian cities which are social sustainable, economically sufficient and have already taken initiatives to generate or purchase renewable energy to light their cities are more likely to attract solar technologies than the rest. Furthermore, cities lying in the north and north-west of India are both meteorologically and geographically endowed to harness solar energy, therefore, they receive more financial benefits and subsidies to install solar photovoltaic systems. With respect to site suitability analysis for solar establishments, both rooftop solar systems and solar park systems were considered. The study revealed that although most of the existing energy master plans have considered all sectors for solar energy generation, but most of the implementations have occurred in the municipal buildings. Therefore, this study has explored the energy generation potential in municipal buildings of a city without a master plan, such that the government can use this prototype immediately for such schemes in the future. Moreover in the predicted regions, recent developments are also visible in such areas. Thus, this research has successfully presented a detailed picturesque and analysis of the different parameters of urban forms, society and governance in solar city planning and investigate the integration of these parameters in Indian solar city planning.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Geomorphic and Ecological Assessment of Lower Silai Corridor for Stream Restoration
    Patel, Priyank Pravin
    The increased intensity of anthropogenic activities, which are mostly concentrated within river corridors, has altered the natural functioning of fluvial systems beyond their regeneration capacity. Therefore, much attention has devolved towards riparian zone conservation and management using integrated hydromorphological approaches for sustaining the overall river health. While such approaches have been adopted for various basins worldwide, they have seldom been applied to Indian rivers, particularly in West Bengal. In this study, the Silai River Basin, which encompasses part of the eastern fringe of the Chotanagpur Plateau in Puruliya and the alluvial plains of Bankura and Paschim Medinipur Districts in West Bengal, has been analysed to ascertain the efficacy of bioengineering solutions in mitigating the common fluvial/anthropogenic hazards prevalent in its riparian zone towards restoring the stream's hydromorphological health. The overall reach-wise ecogeomorphic character of the river and its present health status has been examined using multi-metric indices that seek to assess river health based on the channel's morphological, hydrological and ecological functionality, highlighting sites that are impaired and commonly afflicted by hazards such as floods and riverbank erosion, sand mining activities and consequent soil loss and land degradation. A detailed analysis of these hazards enable pinpointing of sites where possible bioengineering solutions (live grass buffers) can mitigate the ambient river health degradation. The effectiveness of Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) as a soil and water conservation tool is investigated along the River Ketia, a spillchannel of the Silai River, to gauge the impacts of this grass' root network on those soil physicochemical properties that contribute towards increased soil cohesion and slope stabilisation. The performed 1-D simulation modelling to examine the effect of the grass' aboveground biomass in reducing flood velocities and retarding excess overland flow also yielded positive results. Therefore, installing these grass buffers along bare, eroded slopes that are affected by soil loss, can become a viable solution to reduce the volume of overland flow and sediments reaching the channel, helping to lessen flooding in the region. Hence such environment-friendly and cost-effective grass buffers can become sustainable riparian conservation tools to restore the already much degraded river basins across India.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Stakeholders Power Structure and the Distribution of Rural Tourism Resources A Study on Sikkim
    Das, Subhajit
    Rural tourism is expected to preserve local resources and the community while remaining rural in scale, purpose, and location. Despite scholarly debates and significant expenditures, rural tourism initiatives nevertheless encounter challenges and often fail, particularly in emerging economies. The main reason for such failure is the absence of academic understanding relating the two essential components of rural tourism: the stakeholders and the resources. Due to this, the interaction between the spatio-temporal distribution of tourism resources (touristization and touristscape), the political climate of the destination, and its sustainability, did not receive sufficient consideration in the current scholarly discussion. By closely examining the interactions among resource distribution and stakeholders’ power-politics the current research aims to address this gap. The eight (8) sampled destinations from Sikkim, India, were selected based on recommendations from experts and visitors, they reflect the political realities of rural tourism in developing nations. At first, the impactful resources and key-role playing stakeholders of these destinations were identified and mapped as they are the main agent and focus of the above-mentioned political interplay. The internal community politics has been unveiled using Social Network Analysis (SNA), while the interrelationship among the power, its factors and resource distribution has been explored using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The current study has produced a detailed list of impactful resources and operational stakeholders around which the operational-level politics revolve. This study also outlined the characteristics of touristization and the touristscape, local politics and the consequent power structure and the distribution of tourism resources. The practitioners and policy-makers of rural tourism will find this study as a useful comprehensive reference for the ground reality of stakeholders’ politics and power structure and ways of sustainably managing it.