integrated coastal zone management project west ... - Iczmpwb.org

149constructed long time back along the creeks of this estuarine track. This embankment systemis in various stages of disrepair and often the vulnerable sections are breached leading toflooding of the paddy fields with saline/brackish water. Once a field is polluted withbrackish water it takes several monsoon seasons to wash out the salt from the soil back intothe creeks so as to make the area suitable for agriculture.Fresh water depletion and salinity ingress in coastal aquifers119. The geohydrological set up of coastal zones of West Bengal is known to a reasonableof detail. A fresh water aquifer sandwitched between two saline/brackish water bearingzones is present along the coast. In areas marked by sandy dune systems along the coast, ashallow fresh water zone is present from surface to a few metres depth. Two areas ofconcern are Haldia and Digha-Sankarpur. Organised withdrawal of ground water has been inplace in Haldia to supplement the fresh water supply from surface sources. To protect theground water from overdrawal, appropriate statutory notification has been promulgated byCentral Ground Water Authority. In Digha-Sankarpur area unregulated shallow to deep tubewells are being sunk for drawal of fresh water. In both places no systematic study has beenmade to assess whether there is any depletion of fresh water in the region. Further it has alsonot been investigated whether due to drawal of fresh water whether the wedge of salt waterfreshwater interface is moving land wards.D.6.6 Livelihood Issues and Conflicts120. The major part of coastal areas of West Bengal is rural in nature. Eastern part of thecoast in the South 24 Parganas is mostly uninhabited due to the presence of dense mangroveforest. There is only one township (Haldia) located on the coast of West Bengal. The majoractivities of the coastal communities are rural in nature. These activities include agriculture,fishing, collection of minor forest produce in Sundarban, dairy and poultry developmentactivities, small scale retail trading and service sector activities. In and around Haldia, manymembers of the coastal population are employed in the organized industries and in varioustrading activities or service oriented professions. In and around Digha, the local people areengaged in various professions related to tourism inclusive of the transport sectoremployment. Self employed rural artisans of various handicraft products are a small grouphaving a difficult livelihood.121. There are two livelihood issues that may lead to conflicts in coastal areas of WestBengal because of inevitable change that may be forthcoming. The first is between thechoice of agriculture and aquaculture in the coastal areas. The real economic andemployment potential of one in preference to the other are often obliterated by social and/or