Hooghly’s hunger eats into Serampore town, residents wary
The Statesman | 27 September 2025The erosion was detected four years ago, when cracks developed in some residential abodes along the bank. This was in addition to damages caused to a few ghats along the river. The progress was slow then, but the recent heavy downpours have triggered an alarming increase the river’s volume, accompanied by turbulent water currents.
Massive chunks of alluvial soil along the river’s banks have been washed away, and the hairline cracks have developed into fissures on roads running adjacent and parallel to the Hooghly. A big crack appeared recently on an important road running through Serampore, beginning at Mahesh’s Nehru Nagar Colony. A major part of the road has even caved in, throwing traffic in disarray.
The erosion is quite frightening in municipal ward no. 18, where the strong turbulence of the river has broken its bank. Locals are in constant panic over when the swirling waters would strike and find way into their homes. The Serampore town president, Mr Santosh Kumar Singh, who is also the chairman-in-council, has expressed serious concern over the situation. Empathising with the residents, he said, “Steps will be taken to strengthen the banks as soon as the monsoon withdraws.”
For the moment, temporary measures are being taken to slow down the erosive attack and prevent the turbulent waters from causing more damage to the banks and adjoining roads by placing boulders and sandbags on the bank.
Ms Chandrani Mukherjee, Geography teacher at Serampore Girls’ High School, explained the factors responsible for the quickening of the bank’s erosion. “Erosion, especially near residential areas, is caused by a combination of natural reasons like heavy rainfall, flooding, strong currents, and the physical characteristics of the riverbank such as the absence of vegetation, and acts of deforestation. High water velocities due to large water volume or steep stream gradient can generate enough force to dislodge and wash away bank material, mainly soil. Riverbanks with no vegetation, roots of which help hold soil in place, and soil with poor drainage are more vulnerable to erosion,” she said.
In June this year, the residents of Regent Ganga, a housing complex in Hooghly’s Uttarpara, had planted around 5,000 mangrove saplings along the Hooghly to prevent the erosion of the riverbank. The occupants of the gated complex with 18 towers said they were trying to put up a mangrove shield to save their homes after the river advanced by 24 feet towards the complex over the past 10 years.
Serampore subdivisional officer Samrat Chakraborty, and Uttarpara-Kotrung municipality chairman Dilip Yadav, who were present when the saplings were planted, encouraged the planting exercise and said more awareness in this regard was needed.
