Geospatial Study of River Shifting and Erosion–Deposition Phenomenon Along a Selected Stretch of River Damodar, West Bengal, India

The present research work is carried out within the selected stretch of river Damodar starting from Durgapur barrage to Pallaroad of West Bengal, India. Measurement of braiding index (>1.5) and sinuosity (<1.5) with the aim of analyzing river morphometric parameters along with river shifting related with erosion–deposition for sinuosity throughout the study time duration indicate that the river has a braiding and straight or sinuous nature. Island area has increased from 54%–61% of the total river area during 2001–2018. Statistical analysis reveals that braiding index is positively correlated to alpha index (r = 0.902) and negatively correlated with island area (r = −0.903). The river has shifted in the east–west direction but the overall stretch stabilizes its banks and shows a tendency toward equilibrium. The total area of erosion and deposition within the selected stretch is 14.01 km2 and 36.339 km2, respectively. Statistically, the depositional phenomenon shows a significant change within the studied time period whereas no such significant change is observed in the erosion phenomenon. The results obtained can be helpful in developing flood management strategies proving useful for future preparedness and mitigation measures.