Abstract:
Bangladesh is located at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas and the landscape of the
country is formed with the morphological changes of the Ganges- Brahmaputra-Meghna
river system. The Teesta is one of the main tributary of the Brahmaputra river which
originates from the glaciers of Sikkim, India. The Teesta river flows through the northeastern
region of Northern Bangladesh which is considered as the soul of the entire region
of Rangpur division. Physiographically, the region is recognized as Teesta Floodplain and
designated as an important earthquake zone. Morphological Changes are recurrent
incident in the study area. Aggradation and degradation processes of the Teesta river
shaped different morphological features in the river basin. Flood, erosion, sediment
deposition, channel migration are the main events causing river morphology change. All
these fluvial-morphological hazards are responsible for distresses of thousands of people
of the Teesta riverine community. The study area lies beneath the plains of the Himalayas
and it is the inherent cause for flood and river bank erosion in the Teesta river basin. The
unstable river bank and its changing morphology turned the region least developed
economy and the area is known as “Monga prone area” (“Monga” refers to seasonal
unavailable employment opportunity and reduction of purchasing capacity of essential
goods which leads people to become starved) as well as the community is termed as
“Mofij”(The poor people of Teesta river basin). Catastrophic flood, ruinous river bank
erosion, recurrent channel shifting situation becomes part and parcel of everyday life of
the community adjacent to the Teesta river bank. The Teesta riverine people are helpless,
homeless and landless particularly the poor‟s are the most affected and vulnerable groups
who are loosening their lives, property and livelihoods. Morphological change interrupts
their normal life and they turn into poor, poorer and poorest.---
Description:
This Thesis is Submitted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies , University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
