Rejuvenation of riverfront, Ganga,Murshidabad,West Bengal

Abstract

The water has potential to make cities as a cultural and heritage hub. Tourists that come to the city will have to pass the river, so by developing the river in a beautiful way will attract more people to visit the place furthermore increasing the revenue. In the current scenario, the riverside is covered with unused spaces, encroachments, illegal construction and waste dumping. Long negligence to the river edge after Britishers shifted the capital of Bengal from Murshidabad to Kolkata, causing illegal activities; waste dumping, deforestation and soil erosion along the river. In awareness of maintaining the river and its optimum use, the Indian government has proposed a ghat restoration project(GAP) along the Bhagirathi river. In my final year B. Arch thesis project, a proposal of Rejuvenation of the Bhagirathi river front and its impact to revive the socio-cultural, economic and environmental character of the city - is proposed. A contemporary design idea has to be proposed for a successful water-edge development with a better user experience. Through several types of research and surveys, some design vocabulary and planning strategy has been derived for commemorating heritage value of the city in proposed design and creating a livelihood within the site with continuous footfall(tourists) throughout the year. The main concern of the project is to decrease the river pollution, protection from flood and increasing tourism. The proposed stretch is around 1.4 km long and 15-130 m wide (varies accordingly), which covers the Ghats (bathing steps/small dock) between Ashoke Mahal Ghat and Hazarduari Palace Museum.