Nadia District Research Articles

Growth and instability of rice production: a district level analysis in West Bengal, India

West Bengal is the largest rice-producing state in the country. It contributes significantly to the national production pool and is one of the important rice consuming state. It is essential to study the growth pattern of rice production in the state. The district wise information of growth rate and instability is not available. Also the association of growth rate and instability has not been studied. Hence the present study was conducted to compute the district wise growth rate and instability in the area, production and yield of rice in West Bengal state and to examine the association between growth rate and instability. The district-wise data on rice was sourced from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India for the period 1983-84 to 2019-20. The data has been divided into five periods for analysis. Compound annual growth rate and Cuddy-Della Valle Instability index have been computed for the five periods. The instability was divided into five classes. These classes are very low instability, low instability, medium instability, high instability and very high instability.The highest growth rate for area and production was recorded in Nadia district during period I (1983-34 to 1989-90) while the highest growth rate for yield was recorded in South Dinajpur district during period IV (2010-11 to 2019-20). The growth rate for production and yield was positive for all the districts during periods IV (2010-11 to 2019-20) and V (1983-84 to 2019-20). Only one district recorded a negative growth rate for production during period I (1983-84 to 1989-90) and for yield during the period I (1983-34 to 1989-90), III (2000-01 to 2009-10) and IV (2010-11 to 2019-20). The instability varied from 0.63 to 26.57 percent in area, 1.49 to 19.46 percent in production and 0.70 to 45.95 per cent in yield across the districts over five periods.None of the districts recorded very high instability for area, production and yield; high instability for area and production; and medium instability for yield.Most of the districts showed very low instability for area and yield during periods I (1983-34 to 1989-90), II (1990-91 to 1999-2000), III (2000-01 to 2009-10) and IV (2010-11 to 2019-20); and low instability during period V (1983-84 to 2019-20). For production, the highest number of districts recorded low instability during periods I (1983-34 to 1989-90), III (2000-01 to 2009-10), and V (1983-84 to 2019-20) and very low instability during period II (1990-91 to 1999-2000) and IV (2010-11 to 2019-20). The growth in area is moving around zero, which indicates little scope in area expansion. The increase in rice demand can achieved through introduction of new high yielding varieties and application of site specific crop management techniques. For this a comprehensive database may be developed at disaggregated level to implement the policy at district level in West Bengal.

Assessment of Metalaxyl migration through vadose zone of alluvial sandy soil using column experiment and HYDRUS numerical modeling

Contemporary research on pesticides/fungicides as potential sources of groundwater contamination, including their migration pathways, especially in the Western Bengal basin (WBB), is scarce. The present research intends to study the vulnerability of groundwater towards pollution from metalaxyl. Metalaxyl is a fungicide added anthropogenically to the sandy soil of WBB for the cultivation of crops like tomatoes, potatoes and mustard. The study explores the mechanics of metalaxyl adsorption in soil and its migration to the associated groundwater system. Chemical analyses show high concentrations of metalaxyl within groundwater (472.9 μg/L, maximum amount) from the study area (Nadia district of WBB). The groundwater ubiquity score of metalaxyl (4.6) depicts that it is very much prone to leach through the sandy soils of WBB to the underlying groundwater system. The results of column leaching experiments and their congruence to the findings of numerical modelling study using HYDRUS software confirm the fact. The adsorptive resilience of the studied soils towards metalaxyl is insignificant (soils of North Chandmari (S1) =0.1087 mg/g, Ghoragacha (S2) =0.21 mg/g, and Khaldarpara (S3) =1.771 mg/g). However, the presence of excess iron concentration may enhance the adsorptive capacity of the soil toward Metalaxyl, thereby limiting its migration toward the zone of saturation.

Health Seeking Behavior and Post COVID 19 Collision on Reproductive Health among Rural Women in West Bengal: A Micro Level Analysis

Women reproductive health has always been at a stake and due to COVID-19 pandemic vulnerability went even worse. The paper attempts to gain an insight on the health seeking behaviour (HSB) of women suffering from reproductive morbidities in rural West Bengal. It examines the financial implication of ill-health and its formidable consequence in post COVID-19 period. The paper is based on primary data of 200 women in West Bengal aged 15-49 years. Illiteracy and joblessness impart significant negative impact on women HSB. Young married women are less likely to opt treatment. Respondents have positive opinion towards public entities whereas possesses negative perception towards private HCS. North Twenty Four Paraganas is comparatively better performing district compared to Nadia. COVID-19 has imparted higher impact on Nadia district compared to North Twenty Four Parganas. Adoption of UHC approach through intersectoral convergence is necessitated to ensure ‘Health for all’.

Biomonitoring of Kulla Beel, a Flood Plain Wet-land, Using Benthic Macro Invertabrates

Kulia beel, a flood plain wetland, located in Nadia District of West Bengal is surrounded by hospital, industries and human settlements. In the present study the ecological assessment through biomonitoring was done by using benthic macroinvertebrates collected from five sites during pre-monsoon, monsoon and postmonsoon periods. Average Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H) was found to vary from 0.953 at S2 during pre-monsoon to 1.683 at S3 during post-monsoon. The evenness index (1) varied from a maximum average value of 0.998 at site S-4 to a minimum average value of 0.614 at site S-1 during pre-monsoon seasons. Both the indices indicate the water body to be moderately polluted.

Mapping of Sediment and Water Resources of Nadia District, West Bengal, India for Freshwater Aquaculture Management Practices

Present study relates to the fish growth, optimization and profitable fish production through pond sediment and water resources maps on sustainable basis. ALl blocks of Nadia district of West Bengal comprising of hot moist sub-humid agro-ecological region were thoroughly surveyed and physico-chemical characteristics of pond water and sediments were analysed. Based on the sediment and pond water resources an improved the fertilizer and manure management schedule, as well as maps have been prepared and demonstration of carp polyculture were carried out. All the fish species attained higher growth in the ponds of hot moist sub-humid agro-ecological regions (alluvial soils) following new nutrient management map over control. The average total fish production in experimental and control ponds was 5.184 and 3.095 tonnes/ha/yr, respectively.

Credit Debt and Over-indebtedness Among the Agrarian Community: A Case Study in Krishnagar-I C.D. Block of Nadia District, West Bengal

This article examines the different aspects and the persistence of credit debt and over-indebtedness among the 227 rural agrarian households of seven representative villages in Krishnagar-ICD Block of Nadia district, West Bengal in India. This study employed three multiple regression models, one binary logistic regression model, percentage and frequency count to analyse the data. Overall, 41.41% of the total farmers faced an over-indebted burden. The majority of the borrowers are sub-marginal farmers (59.47%), availed their major proportion of credit (63.17%) from different non-institutional agencies and utilized their major proportion loan (69.37%) for several unproductive purposes. Over-indebtedness is strongly related to the farmer from a lower age group and experiencing the adverse shock of death from any family member. It is found higher among the more experienced farmer and the farmer having more percentage of cash crop and with the increase of overdue amount and credit demand per acre. On the other hand, it is found lower with the rise of per acre cost for production. To reduce the uncertain shock of the over-indebtedness burden, credit literacy, land productivity and non-agricultural income source should be increased, complicated procedural formalities of formal credit for the sub-marginal farmer and landless sharecropper should be minimized.

Scheduled tribes (ST) students: Challenge & development

High School education for ST students is seen as one of the most emerging policy issues of contemporary India. Teachers engaged in teaching of ST student’s face unique set of challenges, which are emerged primarily from the unique cultural patterns of Bedia and Santal community. This study was conducted in the native area of Nadia district of west Bengal. Interview of the teachers was conducted in order to get valuable data for understanding the research problem. Data was subjected to rigorous of content analysis to unveil the major themes and patterns in the interview data. The study identified that the issue with teaching ST students lies in their inability to adapt in normal school conditions. The study also reveals that there are large gaps between school culture and family culture of children, creating a situation of cultural mismatch, resulting into creating discipline problems, management problems and poor responsiveness of Bedia and Santal students towards academic activities.

Prevalence of Haematopinus quadripertusus and Haematopinus tuberculatus in Cattle and Buffalo of West Bengal, India

Haematopinus is one of the most belligerent lice that are commonly found in wild and domesticated poly-gastric and mono-gastric animals. The prevalence of Haematopinus in a specific geographical area is also a matter of great concern, as it may act as vectors for transmitting fatal pathogens of different death-dealing diseases like anaplasmosis, brucellosis, bartonellosis, and theileriosis. A survey was conducted to identify the presence of specific ectoparasites in cattle and buffaloes from different villages of Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, and Nadia districts of West Bengal, India. Cases of severe itching, irritation, and restlessness were observed in sixteen cattle and two buffaloes during the survey. On closer examination, the cattle and buffaloes were found to be infested with lice. The lice from cattle and buffaloes were collected in 70% ethanol and the samples were examined for morpho-taxonomic keys using a stereo-microscopic observation procedure. Based on the findings the lice were identified as Haematopinus quadripertusus in cattle and Haematopinus tuberculatus in buffaloes.

Economic Impact of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS): Findings from Nadia District of West Bengal

"With the passage of time and needs of rural people, the number and activities of PACSs have increased manifold and undergone changes with government patronage. This paper seeks to address how and to what extend the farming people have been benefited from PACS for their economic frontier in Nadia district of West Bengal. Primary data have been analysed through different statistical methods including multivariate analyses viz. principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and group characterization. The results show a positive relationship of the PACS’ role and family income of the farming community and majority of the sampled farmer members expressed the moderate role of PACS on overall economic development of farming community. Perception of the members on economic development by PACS is mostly homogeneous in nature. General perception of the members indicates the disappointing performances of the PACS in raising agricultural productivity or opening business opportunity at village level."

NREGA and Employment opportunity in Nabadwip block

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is being considered as a ‘Silver Bullet’ for the development of society. It has been eradicating the rural poverty and unemployment by the way of generating more employment for productive unskilled labour in rural India. In last few decades, rural poverty and unemployment have grown in an unprecedented. Nabadwip is a community development block in Nadia District. It forms an administrative division in Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Nabadwip CD block had to be semi industrially developed and least agriculturally dependent. The NREGA is a demand-driven people centred scheme. The NREGA Act had passed in September, 2005. But NREGA has been implemented in Nadia district from 1st April, 2007. NREGA guarantees 100 days of right to work for every individual in the village section of India. According to the Act, it can enhance the quality of life and motivate or mobilise the life style of citizens all over the country as well as study block. The research study is mainly based on Krishnagar II CD block and Nabadiwip CD Block of Nadia district. It is discussed in this article on various issues like background of Nabadwip block, brief note of employment provided HH against demanded HH, employment provided HH of SCs, STs and Women, employment persondays generated and lastly but not a least discussed about average no. of days employment provided per HH in study Nabadwip block.

Arsenic acquisition pattern in different plant parts of aromatic rice cultivars

A field trial was conducted in Gontra village under Chakdaha block of Nadia district, West Bengal during rainy (kharif) season of 2020 to assess arsenic (As) accumulation in different plant parts of aromatic rice cultivars. The field trial was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 15 treatments (aromatic rice cultivars) and three replications. Results revealed that the aromatic rice cultivar ‘Poreiton’ (collected from Manipur) showed maximum arsenic accumulation in grain (0.93 mg/kg) and husk (1.68 mg/kg); being statistically at par with cultivars ‘Wairi-Chakhao’ (0.87 and 1.55 mg/kg grain and husk, respectively) and ‘'Lalbadshabhog’ (0.74 and 1.52 mg/kg grain and husk, respectively). Least arsenic accumulation was found in the cultivar ‘Tulaipanji’ (0.17 and 0.71 mg/kg grain and husk, respectively). Hence, the cultivar ‘Tulaipanji’ grain was found to be safe for human consumption, as the grain As content within the safe limit as per WHO’s guideline (maximum 0.2 mg/kg of white rice). But other cultivars need some mitigation strategies with respect to water and nutrient management so that grain As content is kept within the safe limit.

The Study On The Physical Health Of Primary School Children In Selected Primary Schools Of Gopalpur, Nadia District, West Bengal, Focused On Weight Management

The Study On The Physical Health Of Primary School Children In Selected Primary Schools Of Gopalpur, Nadia District, West Bengal, Focused On Weight Management

A preliminary report on tomato pests (Solanum lycopersicum Dunal L.) in Nadia district, West Bengal, India

A preliminary report on tomato pests (Solanum lycopersicum Dunal L.) in Nadia district, West Bengal, India

The Role of Women Dairy Cooperative Society in the Socio- Economic Empowerment of Women Members: A Study of Nadia District of West Bengal in India.

The purpose of India’s diary development projects is to empower rural women. Rural women in West Bengal are empowered by cooperatives that produce women’s milk at the village level. A case study of particular women’s milk producers’ society was done in the West Bengal district of Nadia by the Modhumoti women milk producers’ co-operative society, which is a member of the West Bengal Milk Union (WBMUL). The socioeconomic standing of the women members greatly improved when they joined the women milk producers’ cooperative association. A three-tier structure of dairy cooperative groups, including producers’ societies at the village level, unions at the district level, and federations at the state level, was discovered by the study in West Bengal. The study discovered that there are two sectors in the milk marketing system: organized and unorganized. The authors conclude by identifying the employment at one’s own home, an increase in family income, a rise in social status, and economic independence as the three most significant drivers of these women’s decision to join cooperative societies as seen in the study area.

Geostatistical analysis of arsenic contamination in soil and comparison of interpolation techniques in Nadia district of Bengal, India

The contamination of soil and water with arsenic directly or indirectly affects millions of people, particularly in Southeast Asia. Efficiently managing contaminated sites cost-effectively requires an understanding of the spatial distribution of contamination in soil. In this study, different interpolation methods, including Ordinary Kriging (OK), Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Radial Basis Function (RBF), and Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK), were evaluated in the Bengal region to determine their effectiveness in predicting the Olsen extractable As content in the soil. The study found that the mean Olsen extractable content in soil was 1.45 mg kg-1 , with a range of 0.48 to 3.57 mg kg-1 . Geostatistical analysis showed that the northern side of Nadia had relatively high contamination, while the southern side had relatively lower contamination. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values of the different interpolation methods ranged from 0.52 to 0.54, with corresponding mean cross-validation (CV) values ranging from -0.005 to 0.008. The predicted minimum and maximum values of as-in soil were in close agreement with the measured values for IDW interpolation, followed by OK, RBF, and EBK. The study found that IDW consistently provided the most precise predictions of pollution in the soil throughout space. These findings have significant implications for managing contamination in the Nadia West Bengal and other regions facing similar challenges.

Comparison of Arima and Ann for Forecasting the Annual Rainfall of Nadia District, West Bengal, India

Comparison of Arima and Ann for Forecasting the Annual Rainfall of Nadia District, West Bengal, India

Water Quality Index of Jalangi River in Nadia District of West Bengal

Water Quality Index of Jalangi River in Nadia District of West Bengal

Arsenic in mind: Construction of knowledge and attitude scales

Chronic arsenic toxicity (arsenicosis) as a result of drinking arsenic-contaminated groundwater is a major environmental health hazard throughout the world, including India. During the last four decades arsenic contamination of groundwater in nine districts out of twenty in West Bengal has become a serious problem. About 20% population of West Bengal in nine districts (Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24- Parganas, and South 24-Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and Burdwan) are affected by arsenic problem. To prevent this harmful effect, every people need to have proper knowledge and positive attitude towards arsenic. In this study, the researcher constructed a standardized tool of knowledge and attitude towards arsenic to assess the knowledge and attitude level of arsenic among the people of arsenic contaminated area. The researcher took item analysis method to assess the quality of the items of every section. Then the tools were measured the reliability by the Pearson’s product moment correlation method. Primarily two self-administered tools of 39 knowledge items and 32 attitude items regarding arsenic was applied among the people of Nadia district of West Bengal. Therefore, the researcher analyzed the collecting data and eliminated the poor items on the basis of difficulty value and discrimination index. After elimination of distracting items, 25 items in knowledge section and 25 items in the attitude section were retained as a final form of tool regarding arsenic. Thereafter the final form of tools applied among 60 general people to calculate the reliability of the tools by test-retest reliability method. The researcher found significant reliability in knowledge and attitude tools. These standard tools can assess the knowledge and attitude level regarding arsenic among the people of arsenic contamination area with accuracy.

Perceived Attributes of CRIJAF Multi-Row Seed Drill for Line Sowing of Jute in West Bengal

CAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers had developed an innovative technology i.e., manually operated Multirow seed drill that could enable line sowing of jute and helps in reducing the seed rate as well as the labour requirement for weeding and thinning. The study was conducted during 2021 at the villages of North 24 Parganas and Nadia Districts of West Bengal by personal interviewing 80 farmers who had already adopted the CRIJAF Multirow seed drill. It was found that the intervention was relatively more advantageous, compatible with the existing culture and agroclimatic conditions, exhibits prominently observable results and relatively less complex in operation. Hence being a proven technology, the seed drill needs to be popularised in those areas where it has not been utilized yet. The adoption of the seed drill would further improve the effi ciency of jute cultivation by decreasing the cost of cultivation and increasing fi bre productivity.

Development of a Standardized Scale about Knowledge and Attitude towards Sanitation and Personal Hygiene

Access to safe water and sanitation for life is basic and fundamental human rights. Similarly healthy living depends upon some practice and principles of health and hygiene rules. So we cannot ignore the importance of personal hygiene in our life. There is a significant rise in the burden of communicable diseases due to poor personal hygiene. Schools becomes an active place for the transformation of infection between students and it also serves as a home for molding the knowledge and attitude of students towards sanitation and personal hygiene. In India, the parasitic and intestinal infections are quite prevalent because of the lack of personal hygiene. Therefore, it is of utmost essential to measure the knowledge and attitude towards sanitation and personal hygiene among school students. The main objective of this study is to assess the quality of items for preparation of a standardized tool on knowledge and attitude towards sanitation and personal hygiene of higher secondary grade students. To assess the knowledge and attitude towards sanitation and personal hygiene, the investigator prepared a self-made questionnaire. To achieve the pre-determined objectives of the study, the scale was administered on higher secondary grade students of Nadia district. The scale consists of thirty two (32) knowledge items and thirty one (31) attitude items regarding sanitation and personal hygiene. The difficulty index and discrimination index of each item was determined and on the basis of this indices value, seven (7) knowledge items and five (5) attitude items were rejected. Finally twenty five (25) knowledge items and twenty six (26) attitude items were selected in the final form of the scale. To determine the reliability of the test, a test was applied two times on the same group between fifteen (15) days gap through the use of test- retest method. Pearson’s product moment method was used to determine the correlation between two set of scores. The coefficient of correlation of the scale was found as 0.76 and 0.82 respectively for knowledge and attitude scale which is highly significant. It has been revealed that item analysis and test reliability play a crucial role in constructing a scale.