Cosmos: A Journal of Geography

A Study on the Socio-Economic Status of Charland Dwellers in Nalbari District, Assam

The present study was undertaken to study the socio-economic life of the inhabitants in the char areas of Nalbari district. Assam has about 3.6 lakh hectares of char lands, of which about 2.4 lakh hectare area is cultivable (Directorate of Char Area Development, Assam, 2002–2003). The study area lies under the southern part of the Barkhetri Block where the river Brahmaputra creates around 42 major and tiny chars covering a total geographical area of 1,17,191 bigha (Barkhetri Revenue Circle,2011). Among the 42 chars, Bhangnamari, Kurihamari and Kalarchar are the major Chars where agriculture is the main economic activity for the local people. Char areas are the highest population density zone in Assam. The increasing population exerts tremendous pressure on the cultivable lands, whose effects could be seen on the general and agricultural land use pattern of the study area. Again, Char dwellers also confront many natural environmental problems like floods, drought, erosion, cyclones, etc. which sometimes stand like a barrier in the way of agricultural development. A filed survey was conducted in 2023-2024 to sample Char villages to collect the primary data. It reveals that about 61% of people directly depend on agricultural production for their livelihood. But their poor economic conditions and low literacy level sometimes create a negative impact on their livelihood.  Keywords: Socio-economic life, Char land dwellers, agriculture, educational status, land use