Abstract
The history of development of Kolkata as a megacity in India dates back to 300 years. The scenario changed when the administrative headquarter of the British East India Company was established in erstwhile Calcutta, located at the bank of the River Hugli in the lower Gangetic plain. Since its inception, Kolkata has undergone rapid formal and functional change. Both national and international migration has led to the demographic explosion, urban industrial development and an increase in economic opportunities which caused environmental degradation. Until 1793, the urban dynamics of Kolkata followed a linear pattern along the left bank of the Hugli River. A similar trend continued along the right bank from 1793 to 1947 and extended up to its periphery post-independence. In this paper, an attempt was made to explore the influence of river ghats on the urban environment along the selected stretch of the River Hugli. Human activities like garbage disposal (0.089), sewage disposal (0.088) and idol immersion (0.084) have a negative impact on the river water. Secondly, this paper attempts to study the vertical expansion of Kolkata. It has been observed that the average height of buildings in the CBD area is 84.6 meters while along the peri-urban area it is only 10.61 meters proving the distance decay effect (R2 = 0.405 and R2 = 0.314). Besides, the mean values of DQ (5.179mg/l), BQD (8.5mg/l) and CQD (34.5mg/l) in the river water reflect the degrading water quality for the aquatic environment. Geospatial assessment techniques were used to understand the research problems and combat the environmental challenges. Complex functional development and decaying urban quality of life along the Hugli River has led to critical environmental transformation.
Highlights
Since its inception Kolkata, or erstwhile Calcutta, has undergone a rapid change in terms of its urban morphology, environmental interaction, ambient air and water quality management (Roy 1982; Kosambi and Brush 1988; Mahadevia 2001; Bardhan et al 2011; Mukherjee 2012)
The long stretch of the river Hugli on the western side of Kolkata is characterized by the presence of numerous ghats
The criteria of classification of the zones are mainly based on administrative jurisdictions (KMC and Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA)), distance from Central Business District (CBD) of Kolkata and orientation of the three main bridges passing through the river Hugli
Summary
Since its inception Kolkata, or erstwhile Calcutta, has undergone a rapid change in terms of its urban morphology, environmental interaction, ambient air and water quality management (Roy 1982; Kosambi and Brush 1988; Mahadevia 2001; Bardhan et al 2011; Mukherjee 2012). The banks of the river Hugli experienced an imbalance in the growth of population because the river acted as a natural barrier that hindered people from settling alongside (Dhar 2014) This phenomenon led to the foundation of the crisscross transport network to connect either side of the river by rail and roadways development (Mandal 2000; Chatterjee 2007). The nineteenth century ushered in a new era of development in commerce, which made Kolkata a centre of trade and capital It was in 1690 when Job Charnock realised the potential of this region and laid the foundation of British Calcutta on the site of the Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kalikata villages on the eastern bank of the Hugli river (Murphey 1964; Mitra 1977). The selected stretch of the river within the study area is meandering and concaving towards Kolkata
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