Moving with the river: Dhulian’s shifting identity & eroding future at Ganga’s edge

On a warm July night in 2024, Nazim (name changed) and his family were sound asleep when a loud explosion and a cracking noise startled them awake. They found part of their house dangling over the riverside. For the residents of Dhulian, what transpired was a nightmare.

“This is the second time we lost our house,” Nazim said. His family, however, decided to remain close to the river in the hope that the river will eventually give them back their property (with the emergence of a chor or sandbar).

In its interaction with the people of Bengal, the Ganga reincarnates a complicated dichotomy of respect and contempt. In Malda district, the nutrient-rich water and sediment of the Ganga offer favourable conditions for mango plantations, which is a boon for local agriculture and agronomy. Meanwhile, Dhulian in Murshidabad has been facing a tireless riverbank erosion over the past two decades, which causes the displacement of 100 to 200 families annually.

Despite this destruction, the affected communities want to maintain the deep cultural and spiritual connection with their “Ganga Ma” (Mother Goddess Ganga). They expressed their deep desire to continue living by the river, echoing their ancestral legacy.

Dhulian, a historic city in pre-independence undivided Bengal, was formerly an important linking port for the whole area. It was famous for its jute trade, boatbuilding and riverine commerce. The town has prospered as a lively and densely inhabited centre since the Nawabs’ time, famous not just for trade but also for its rich cultural life.

It gained prominence as a cultural centre throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, due to the Nimtita Rajbari, which served as a magnet for Bengal's creative and intellectual circles. Eminent poets, playwrights, and musicians gathered to perform and preserve the region's cultural history. The Rajbari was particularly well-known for its fortnightly Jatra Pala performances, which helped establish Dhulian as a theatrical hub. Later, famed director Satyajit Ray immortalised Nimtita Rajbari by filming scenes from Jalsaghar, Devi and Samapti within its majestic halls.

However, this thriving expansion was halted by destructive erosional processes induced by the Ganga. Between 1948 and 1952, the city lost a significant amount of territory, including its railway station and main market. The damage didn't stop there. Following the installation of the Farakka Barrage in the 1970s, the pace of erosion increased dramatically. By the 1980s, entire neighbourhoods had been swept away, and many inhabitants were compelled to flee, becoming environmental refugees in their own country.

A town surrounded by a river should have a large variety of livelihood options, but Dhulian is an exception. The town, once famous for its variety of economic activities like handloom (tant), trading, fishing, cultivation, lost its importance due to rapid riverbank erosion and human migration.

Today, the whole city depends on bidi-binding for a continuous flow of income and livelihood. “We have been working here for the last two decades, witnessing the submergence of the port city under River Ganga,” said social worker Arup Chakrobarti. This cultural city thus changed its characteristics completely; some rich people migrated and the marginalised people stayed, losing their whole economy and its variety, which devolved into a bidi market.

Bidi making is harmful to health, but remains a major source of income for the residents of Dhulian, including the teenagers. 

The impact on children has been severe. Dropout rates are rising sharply. After the Right to Education Act came into force in 2010, Chakrobarti shared, school enrolment increased initially but the momentum was short-lived.

A primary school teacher in Dhulian shared a painful reality: “We have already lost our school twice, and now we are about to lose it for the third time. There is no building left for us — we are running classes in a villager’s private house.”

“Once upon a time, enrolment was very high. But now, when families themselves do not have stable homes, education has lost its value in their eyes. What is the importance of schooling when survival itself is uncertain?” the teacher asked.

For more than a decade, the community has been campaigning for help, sending repeated appeals to government officials. “But nothing has changed,” they added. “All we have left is hope.”

Erosion has become the defining force in Dhulian’s history, reshaping not only its landscape but also its demography. The first major blow came in 1952-53, when the old town was swallowed by the Ganga, including its railway station and main bazaar. Since then, the process has only intensified. In the mid-1970s, nearly 10,000 hectares of land and 50 mouzas (administrative areas) were lost, rendering about 50,000 people homeless.

Later, between 1988 and 1994, erosion wiped out another 206.6 square kilometres of land across Murshidabad, displacing more than 14,000 families. Recent figures show the trend continues: In 2025 alone, around 1,600 hectares vanished into the river, according to a report in The Print.

For Dhulian’s residents, migration has become routine. A 2017 survey revealed that 55 per cent of families had been displaced six times, while others had been uprooted three or more times. Today, the town’s density has swollen to over 15,000 people per square kilometre, much of it packed into fragile slums.

Each wave of erosion not only strips people of their homes and livelihoods but also erodes cultural continuity, forcing families to abandon crafts, schools and traditions that once anchored community life along the Ganga.

Ishlam, a weaver who has lived in Dhulian for nearly 40 years, recalled how his family’s tant business sustained them for generations. But when their house was swallowed by the river in 2024, they plunged into an economic crisis. Forced to migrate, the family had to abandon their traditional craft and take up another livelihood option. Now settled in a new house, Ishlam remains uncertain about the future. “We don’t know how long this home will last,” he said, his biggest worry being the stability of life for his children.

Faruk, another resident, shares the same fear. While he has been actively raising his voice for the rights of local villagers, his own house now stands barely 50 metres from the eroding riverbank. He knows what awaits him and his family, yet continues to fight with a heavy heart, preparing himself for the harsh reality.

Restoring Dhulian is not only about protecting the land, but it is also about valuing the lives of the people and their intimate relationship with nature.

A proper plan for resettlement of the people, strengthened embankments, education and health support can preserve their livelihood and the fragile bond to Ganga Ma.

Dipanjan Mishra is an independent researcher and Debangana Roychowdhury is a secondary school teacher with the GD Goenka Public School, Habra, North 24 Paraganas. Views expressed are the authors’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.