Status of Drinking Water and Sanitation in the Basanti Community Development Block under Indian Sundarban Delta

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n7.025

Keywords:

SDG 6, Drinking Water, Sanitation, Basanti, Indian Sundarban Delta

Abstract

It is widely known that drinking water and sanitation are vital to human life, health and well‐being. Lack of safe drinking water and sanitation has adverse effects on human development. After the Millennium Development Goals, the water and sanitation aspects are exclusively included in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6, and efforts are made to raise awareness globally. Sustainable management of drinking water and sanitation for all is aimed to be ensured by SDG 6, promoting health, economic growth, gender equality, and environmental protection to achieve broader development goals. Basanti is one of the community development blocks (CD Block) in the Indian Sundarban Delta. The status and issues of drinking water and sanitation in the Basanti CD Block are attempted to explain here, using the secondary database. This study found that this CD block is facing drinking water and sanitation problems. Only 1.68% of the total households have drinking water within the premises, and 56.21% still practice open defecation. Different government schemes are available that need to be properly implemented to resolve these issues within this CD Block.

Author Biographies

Tarak Hansda, Department of Geography, Subarnarekha Mahavidyalaya, Jhargram, West Bengal, 721506 India

Tarak Hansda completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Geography from Vidyasagar University, West Bengal. He further pursued his M.Phil. in Oceanography and Coastal Management at the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University. Currently, he is enrolled as a Ph.D. scholar at the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, focusing on interdisciplinary research in coastal studies. He has qualified the UGC-NET with Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and the West Bengal State Eligibility Test (WB SET). Alongside his academic pursuits, he is serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Subarnarekha Mahavidyalaya, Jhargram, West Bengal. His areas of interest include coastal geomorphology, sustainable coastal zone management and tribal development.

Shruti Thakur, School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700032 India

Dr. Shruti Thakur, PhD from Jadavpur University, served as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in the project GRAICAS, under the School of Oceanographic Studies (Jadavpur University, Kolkata), funded by UKRI-GCRF, Living Deltas Hub from August 2020 to July 2022. Subsequent to that, she is now involved as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in the project 'Intergenerational changes in Culture and Practice in the Indian Sundarban Delta' under the School of Oceanographic Studies (Jadavpur University, Kolkata), funded by Northumbria University (UK), from September 2022 to till date. She has more than 8 years of experience in field work in the Indian Sundarban Delta.

Tuhin Ghosh, School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700032 India

Dr. Tuhin Ghosh is a Professor and the present Director of the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, India. He has expertise in coastal geomorphology, disaster management, climate change impacts, adaptation strategies, and human migration. He was the India Lead of NERC(UK) funded 'ESPA-Delta', Belmont Forum ‘Deltas’ and IDRC (Canada) & DfID/FCDO (UK) funded ‘DECCMA’ project, and also in the UKRI-GCRF funded ‘Living Deltas Hub’. He has acted as the Lead Author of IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities.

Abhijit Pal, School of Environment and Disaster Management, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), Narendrapur Campus, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700103 India

Abhijit Pal completed his Honours in Geography from the University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India. He earned his Master’s degree in Geography from West Bengal State University, India. Subsequently, he pursued M.Phil. in Oceanographic Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Currently, he is a Ph.D. scholar in Environment and Disaster Management at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), focusing on coastal disaster management, coastal geomorphology, and advanced geographical and environmental research. He has also qualified for the UGC NET with fellowship and the West Bengal State Eligibility Test (WB SET).

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Published

12-07-2025

How to Cite

Hansda, T., Thakur, S., Ghosh, T., & Pal, A. (2025). Status of Drinking Water and Sanitation in the Basanti Community Development Block under Indian Sundarban Delta. RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary, 10(7), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n7.025

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Vol. 10 No. 7 (2025): RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary

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