CONSCIENTIA Vol. V

Academic Journal of Krishnagar Government College Krishnagar, Nadia Nadia, West Bengal, India

November 2017 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

CONSCIENTIA Vol. V, 2017

Published by Officer-in-Charge Krishnagar Government College Krishnagar, Nadia, West Bengal, Pin-741101 TEL: 03472-252863; FAX: 03472-252810 e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.krishnagargovtcollege.org

© Officer-in-Charge, Krishnagar Government College

Printed at: Maa Kali Artwork Golapati, Krishnagar, Nadia, West Bengal, Pin-741101 November 2017

About the Journal: The peer reviewed journal “Conscientia” is published annually to promote research in multidisciplinary fields and aims to facilitate discussions on important issues across varied disciplines, enfolding Science, Social Science and Humanities. It publishes original research papers, review works, short communication on subjects of academic as well as of popular interest. The journal also welcomes submissions on innovations in the teaching-learning process and/or learning experiences which focus on general dissemination of knowledge. The articles reflect the findings/perspectives of the authors. The authors are exclusively responsible for the statements and opinions advanced by them. The editorial board is in no way responsible for the same.

2 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Editor-In-Chief Dr. Sobhan Niyogi, Officer-in-Charge, Krishnagar Government College Convenor (s) Dr. Dipak Das, Department of Physiology, Krishnagar Government College Dr. Sushmita Bhattacharya, Department of Philosophy, Krishnagar Government College Editorial Board Members From Krishnagar Government College Dr.Amaresh Mandal, Associate Professor, Dept.of Bengali, Krishnagar Government College Dr. Mahua Chaktrabarti, Associate Professor, Dept.of Economics, Krishnagar Government College Dr. Lila Mahato, Associate Professor, Dept.of Geography, Krishnagar Government College Dr.Panchanan Mandal, Associate Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Krishnagar Government College Dr.Pintu Banerjee, Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany, Krishnagar Government College Dr. Himani Biswas, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Zoology, Krishnagar Government College Advisory Board Dr. Barendra Mandal, Associate Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Jadavpur University Dr. Sanjay Pal, Associate Professor, Dept. of Botany, Amrta Vihara Vidyapeetham, Kerala Dr. Ananda Kumar Sarkar, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Dept. of Botany, Staff Scientist, V Dr. Dhruba Prasad Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, Presidency University Prof. Dr. Panchanan Das, Professor Dept of Economics, University of Calcutta Dr. Subhojit Sengupta, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, University of Burdwan Prof. Anil Sarkar, Professor, Dept. of History, University of Kalyani Dr. Ram Prakash Sharma, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical engineering, NIT, Arunachal Pradesh Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, Professor, Dept. of Mathematics, University of Kalyani Dr. Prabir Banerjee, Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, Bidhannagar College Dr. Biswajit Maiti, Associate Professor Dept. of Physics, Government General Degree College Prof. Soumitra Basu, Professor Dept.of Philosophy, Jadavpur University Dr. Preetam Ghoshal, Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, Jadavpur University Dr. PurushottamPramanik, Principal, Dept. of Physiology, Durgapur Govt. College Dr. Anil Kumar Biswas, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Political Science, University of Burdwan Manoj Kumar Halder, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Political Science, Netaji Subhas Open University Mahamahopadhyay Dr.Sitanath Goswami, Former Professor of Sanskrit, Jadavpur university Prof. Dr.Haridas Sarkar, Professor, Dept. of Sanskrit, Coochbehar Panchanan Barma University Dr. Santanu Chakrabarti, Principal, Government General Degree College, Singur Prof. Gautam Aditya, Professor, Dept. of Zoology, University of Calcutta Dr. Gangadhar Nyayacaryay, Kavyatirtha Professor, Jadavpur University

3 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

FOREWARD Dr. Sobhan Niyogi Associate Professor and Officer in Charge Krishnagar Government College

It gives me immense pleasure to announce that volume V of Conscientia, the academic journal of Krishnagar Government College is being published. Over the last 170 years this college in an uninterrupted way carries the Legacy of quality of education since the British rules to the present scenario of the development of India. Today about 3,500 students use and share the same abode of learning with the greats like D.L.Roy, Umesh Dutta,JadunathMukherjee,Jadunath Bhattacharjee, Lalit Kumar Banerjee, Satish Chandra Dey as illustrious students. Teachers using the podium which once used by teachers like PanditMadan Mohan Tarkalankar, Babu RamtanuLahiri, Suresh Chandra Sengupta and many other names remembered with reverence.I am personally honoured to carry the Legacy of developing this more than 170 years old Institution following the footsteps of more than 70 eminent Principals like Roy Bahadur Jyoti BhusanBhaduri, Satish Chandra Dey, J.M. Sen. In less than last ten years this College has secured “A” grade twice in NAAC evaluation and very recently the University of Kalyani have declared this College as the “Best Performing College” of Nadia District. The College teachers are contributing significantly in academic research through various publications at various levels. Conscientia, the interdisciplinary journal of research findings launched by our College in 2011 continues to publish good quality articles since its inception. This Journal is an interdisciplinary and multilingual publication and articles include scientific research findings, socially relevant issues as well as literary contributions of humanities Departments. This volume is expected to evoke interest among various groups of readers for their academic enrichment and future thought provoking ideas.

I wish to thank all the contributors from various Higher Educational Institutions for their submissions, the Editorial Board Members from our College, the Advisory Board Members from various well known Universities and Institutes of West Bengal and India for their active role for the publication of this particular volume.

4 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 CONTENTS

BLACK HOLE INFORMATION PARADOX Ujjwal Das / 7

FIBER OPTICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION Suchismita Maiti / 11

TSALLIS HOLOGRAPHIC DARK ENERGY MODEL IN HIGHER DIMENSION Arindam Saha / 16

LIGHT POLLUTION - A LESSER - KNOWN PROBLEM Sobhan Niyogi / 29

BIOREMEDIATION : A TRIBUTE TO GREEN CHEMISTRY Rajarshi Chatterjee / 35

ON GENERALIZED GRAPH CONTINUOUS MULTIFUNCTION Piyali Mallick / 48

NORMALIZED NUMERICAL RANGE OF TWO NORMAL OPERATORS Gopal Das / 55

FISHING CRAFTS AND GEARS USED IN ASSAM : A REVIEW Chandan Sarkar / 61

SOME THREATENED ANIMALS IMPORTANT TO BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH Hemen Biswas / 72

A REVIEW ON FOOD AND FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF FISHES Riya Pal and Chandan Sarkar / 79

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SELF-HELP GROUP - BANKM LINKAGE PROGRAMME IN NADIA DISTRICT : A MICRO LEVEL STUDY IN THREE DEVELOPMENT BLOCKS Arindam Jana / 85

5 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

MARRIAGE : PERCEPTION AND EXPERIENCE OF THE WORKING WOMEN OF THE COOCH BEHAR TOWN, WEST BENGAL, INDIA Writuparna Chakraborty / 98

DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM AND RELATED ISSUES - A CASE STUDY OF MURSHIDABAD TOWN, WEST BENGAL Sarmistha Das / 106

TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN INDIA - AN ORGANISED CRIME IN APPRAISAL, THE PERCEPTIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Shampa Dutta / 115

TWENTY-FOUR COSMIC PRINCIPLES ACCORDING TO TATTVABODHA : A GIFT OF THE SÂMKHYANNS TO ADVAITA - VEDÂNTA Ranita Ghosh / 122

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6 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

BLACK HOLE INFORMATION PARADOX

Ujjwal Das*

Abstract

Any black hole eventually evaporates by emitting Hawking radiation and wipes out all information about the history of its formation. So, it seems impossible to trace the initial state of the star from the final state of black hole (assuming that black hole behaves as Quantum system) which goes against to the fundamental unitarity principle of quantum mechanics and leads to information paradox. This review article tries to represent how the Fuzzball paradigm of string theory aims to solve the problem by drastically changing the known picture of classical black hole.

Keywords Black hole, Singularity, Event Horizon, Black hole Evaporation, Fuzzball

Introduction Stars with mass exceeding Chandrasekhar limit collapse by its own gravitational attraction forms objects hidden by a surface of no return called Event Horizon. Because all material particles even light after crossing this surface gets trapped andfaces inevitablecatastrophe as the singularity in time in their future, so can’t be avoided. Therefore, nothing can come out of it.So, the name “Black Hole” as coined by John Wheeler. However, StephenW.Hawking (1975) showed, or analysis revealed a strange feature that Black hole can emit radiation (Hawking Radiation) when studied/ investigated behavior of Quantum Field Theory in strong gravitational field near Horizon of black hole and the radiation spectrum can be ascribed to a temperature (very low temperature). Another important and interesting observation about black hole is that the area of the event horizon of a black hole never decreases.This observation including the fact of black hole temperature due to Hawking radiation motivatesBekenstein (1973) to recognize that area of event horizon can be regarded or interpreted as some kind of entropy, as Entropy in 2nd law of thermodynamics never decrease and motivates physicist to study a new branch called black hole thermodynamics. However, search for physical interpretation of black hole entropy in terms of number of different possible microstates as is required by thermodynamical definition hints to the strange feature that the information is somehow encoded on the surface area of black hole rather than volume contained in by it which contradicts the classical intuition. This curious fact that “Area” seems to be more fundamental than “Volume” in conceiving information. According to some scientist may

*Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Krishnagar Govt.College, Krishnagar-741101 Email:[email protected] Received: 17 July 2017 / Accepted: 19 September 2017 7 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 drastically change our idea about the fundamental nature or structure of space itself and expectation that more and more exploration toward plank scale by designing ultra-high energy accelerator collider to reveal new physical reality may even fail to make any sense. Now as the Black hole emits radiation it will lose its mass and eventually evaporates (Black Hole Evaporation). For a typical Black hole of solar mass evaporation time is almost the age of the universe. The Information Paradox The final state of the black hole is surprisingly simple and can be completely specified by its mass, charge and angular momentum. So, the final state of black hole is completely independent of its initial chemical and physical compositions and history of its formation.Again, when the black hole evaporates whatever information or entropy it contains appear to be lost as nothing is left except radiation (which carries no information) after black hole evaporation.Again, according to most fundamental principle of Quantum mechanics i.e.,unitary principle,(which is a statement of probability conservation or conservation of information about the system) final state of a system can be obtained from initial state by applying time evolution operator U through following equation or one can construct initial state from final state of the system by applying it in reverse way. But considering the final state of radiation of black hole which is a mixed state it seems impossible to get back the pure initial state of black hole. So, if for external observer black hole is supposed to behave as a proper quantum system then this failure to track the past history from its final state leads to a logical contradiction. This is known as black hole information paradox. Resolution of Information Paradox One of the most promising theories to resolve the paradox is the theory of Fuzz ball based on string theory developed by Prof.Sameer D. Mathur.Strominger and Vafa (1996) were able to construct black hole using string states which emits radiation spectrum similar to black holeand can have large number of different possible microstates and the most surprising result is that this number exactly matches with the Entropy calculated according to Bekenstein Formula. But it was not sufficient to solve the problem regarding information because still the vacuum was present around the event horizon.Actually, the real key to resolve the paradox was found when the structure of such black hole formed by string states was explored or investigated in detail by Indian Scientist Prof. Sameer.D. Mathur (1996). A very curious observation by Sameer D.Mathur (1998) was that the string states expand in size by a process of strings and Branes called ‘fractionation’with the increase of gravitational interaction rather contracting by its self-gravity andeven exceed the size of the horizon of black hole with same energy. This kind of structure resulted from string states are known as Fuzz ball. ThisFuzz ballemits radiation same as Hawking Radiation from black hole.This replaces the classical picture of a black hole but without the formation of any Event Horizon and source of radiation is also not from the vacuumnear Horizon but from the Fuzz Ball itself (mechanism of particle creation in this case is different from that of Hawking picture). New Picture of Black hole with no Horizon and no Singularity Soon a fascinating picture emerged for the states of black holes from string theory research by Stefano Giusto, Samir D. Mathur, Ashish Saxena (2005) which can be explained using Figure (a) below where only 1 dimension is shown instead of 3 dimensions for simplification.In 1- dimension black hole looks like a line where point in the middle represents singularity and points on either side marking the horizon. Now if one 8 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 assumed the existence of extra dimensions according to string theory and believed that extra dimensions are curled up in a circle then this line representing a hole become or looks like a drinking straw shown in Figure (b). Now,following the steps below an extraordinary picture emerges.

Figure (a) shows black hole in one dimension with horizon and centre. Figure (b) shows black hole with curled up dimension looks like drink- ing straw.Figure (c) indicates the pro- cess of cutting and thronging up the middle region between two points marking the horizon which become non-existent as not being part of space-time. Figure (d) gives the com- plete picture considering all dimen- sions.

First, cut out and discard a middle section from the straw – the part inside the horizon and this part become non-existent as they are no longer a part of space-time. Nextclose the open ends of the straw by adding hemispherical caps. This gives a smooth space, which has no horizon or singularity.The mass M at the center has now vanished. But the curvature of the ‘caps’ contributes energy. These caps also contain other energy carrying objects of string theory. This energy E makes up the mass M which the hole should have, through the relation as shown in Figure(c). For full 3-dimensional problem, situation turns out to be Figure (d); there is a somewhat diûerent shape to the cap in different directions, and all the possible choices for these caps give all the states of the black hole

Conclusion So, we get a nontrivial structure just outside the place where the horizon would have been, but this structure does not ‘fall in’ – there is no place for it to fall into, since space-time ends outside the horizon. The black hole now has a surface just like any other star or planet, exactly what was needed to solve the information paradox! The radiation from the surface of a simple set of fuzz balls was explicitly computed (Cardoso, Vitor and Dias,Oscar J. C. and Hovdebo, Jordan L. and Myers, Robert C 2006). Recent research by Prof. Sameer.D Mathur,Borun Chowdhury that the energy spectrum of this radiation exactly agreed with the predicted Hawking radiation for these special states. But the

9 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 details of the emitted quanta were very diûerent carrying the imprint of the in falling matter therefore there was no information paradox (Chowdhury, Borun D and Mathur, Samir D 2008). References : Hawking S.W (1975): “Particle Creation by Black Holes”. Commun. Math. Phys. 43, 199-220 , Springer- Verlag 1975 Bekenstein, Jacob D. (1973): “Black Hole and Entropy”, Phys.Rev., D7:2333-2346 Andrew Strominger, CumrunVafa (1996): “Microscopic origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy”,Physics Letters B 379, Issues 1-4, 99-104 Das, Sumit R. and Mathur, Samir D.(1996): “Excitations of D-strings, entropy and duality”, Physics Letters B 375:103–110 Samir D. Mathur (1998): Emission rates, the correspondence principle and the information paradox.Nuclear Physics B 529:295–320 Stefano Giusto, Samir D. Mathur, Ashish Saxena (2005) 3-charge geometries and their CFT duals.Nuclear Physics B 710, Issues 1–2: 425-463. Cardoso, Vitor and Dias, Oscar J. C. and Hovdebo, Jordan L. and Myers, Robert C (2006): “Instability of non-super symmetric smooth geometries”, Phys. Rev. D 73: 064031 Chowdhury, Borun D. and Mathur, Samir D. (2008): “Radiation from the non-extremal Fuzzball. Classical and Quantum Gravity” 25:135005.

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Fiber Optics and Telecommunication

Suchismita Maiti*

Abstract

The exponential growth of voice, video and data communication nationally and internationally demanded requirements of new communication technology which leads to fiber optics communication. Nowadays we are enjoying the high-speed uninterrupted internet services and a better telecommunication service at cheaper rate in comparison to that of 20th century. This is possible due to invention of optical fiber in 1970 and its use in communication. Optical fiber work as an ‘light guide’ using the phenomena of total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface. In fiber optics communication signal is transferring as optical signal. The main components of the fiber optic communication are Input signal, Transmitters, Optical fiber, Receiver and Output signal. The main technologies involved in optical networking service are Multiplexing and Demultiplexing, Optical amplifier, Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM), Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Optical Transmission Interface. Communication through optical fiber is much more secure, low cost and hassle free in comparison to communication through the bundle of copper wires.That’s why fiber optic communication is in rapid speed.

Key words

Optical fiberm,core-cladding interface, input signal, transmitters, receiver and output signal, multiplexing and demultiplexing, optical amplifier, dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM),

Introduction

We always want to be connected to each other. This desire leads us to invent postal system, telegram system, telephonic system, internet system. As science progresses, we want to be connected audio-visually with our near and dear one sitting far away. This communication requires a large bandwidth communication. After the invention of LASER, due to its special characteristics over normal light, that led to the development of optical fiber communication. In case of transmission through copper cable the nature of the signal is electrical and in case of fiber optics communication is optical signal. Initially, in fiber optic communication required clear atmosphere line of sight i.e., the transmission path without obstruction between optical transmitter and optical receiver. To eliminate this dependency scientist was trying to find alternative and better option for two important components of optical communication, one is suitable medium through which optical signal can be transmitted with minimum attenuation and distortion and the other is the special light source. After the invention of laser in

*Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Acharya Brojendra Nath Seal College, CoochBehar, West Bengal E-mail: [email protected] Received: 10 July 2017 / Accepted: 6 October 2017 11 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 1960, highly coherent light source is made available.The fabrication of low loss optical fibers in 1970 have led to an immense growth in communication system because of exponential advantages of bandwidth and information transmission rate.

Physically, an optical fiber is a very thin and flexible medium, having a cylindrical shape and consist of three sections (i) The Core: The core is the innermost section having diameter approximately 5µm-10µm. The fibers are silica(SiO2) based. In certain specifications plastic fibers or plastic clad silica fibers are used. (ii) The Cladding: The core is surrounded by cladding of slightly lower refractive index. Its diameter is usually 125µm. (iii) The Jacket: The section called the jacket consists of primary coating (250µm in diameter) followed by another layer, i.e., secondary coating. It is made of plastic or polymer and is provided for protection against moisture, aberration, crushing and environmental dangers. Plastic optical fibers are used as well as glass fibers. Plastic fiber is inexpensive but have some limitations regarding UV resistance, heat, bending sensitivity and compatibility with environment.The core of the fiber acts like a continuous layer of two parallel mirrors. The optical phenomenon involved in it is the total internal reflection. If any light wave impinges on the core within external incident angle  a known as acceptance angle, then it is trapped and guided. Core region has refractive index (n1) slightly more than the refractive index (n2) of the cladding material. Then the acceptance -1 2 2 angle a = sin (n1 –n2 ). For communication of any type of information, there must be three basic elements like Transmitter, Transmitting medium and Receiver. For optical communication, the above three components are Optical Transmitter, Optical fiber (the transmitting medium) and Optical Receiver. In fiber optic technology electrical signal is converted into light signal and transmitted through long strands of glass unlike in traditional copper cable that sends information in the form of electrical signal.

The transmitter consists of a light source, which may be modulated by a suitable drive circuit in accordance with the signal to be transmitted.Then this signal is transmitted to receiver through transmission medium (i.e., optical fiber). Similarly, a receiver consists of a detector, followed by demodulator, an electronic amplifier and a signal recovery unit. In addition to these, main system fiber optic communication also consists of other subsystems for efficient transmission of information. Those are: • Optical repeater which restores the shape and size of signal after a required transmission path • Multiplexer/ Demultiplexer which increases the transmission rate • Line coder/decoder i.e., timing recovery unit to ensure flawless transmission.

Optical fiber can be classified generally into three groups with characteristic features as follows:

(i) Single Mode Step Index(SMSI) fiber:

• ·Small core diameter of 4-10µm and cladding diameter 125µm

• ·Supports single mode propagation

• ·Least pulse spreading and so high data transmission rate

12 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

(ii) Multi-Mode Step Index(MMSI) fiber:

• Core diameter of 50-100µm and cladding diameter 125µm

• Uniform refractive index profile of core material

• Support multimode propagation

• Large pulse spreading and so lower transformation rate than SMSI fiber.

(iii)Multi-Mode Graded Index(MMGI) fiber:

• Typical core/cladding diameter are like 50µm/125µm, 62.5µm/125µm and 85µm/125µm

• Refractive Index of core varies parabolically with distance from fiber axis

• Supports multi-mode propagation

• Less pulse spreading than MMSI and so better data transmission rate than MMSI fiber

These different types of optical fibers are used depending on the nature of signal that is to be transmitted. A tiny impurity in the optical fiber could cause the light pulse to lose some of the information that it is carrying. For this reason, ultra-pure glass is required. Light of wave length in visible range (0.4µm-0.7µm) is not suitable for fiber optic communication due to high absorption. Light of wave length in Infrared region (0.8µm-1.6µm) is used for fiber optic communication. Beside the voice communication now a days there is a huge increase in demand of audio-visual communication. Data transfer in the form of text, multimedia, graphics led to advancement of the technology of fiber optic communication for maximum utilization of transmission capacity of an optical fiber. These are as follows:

• Multiplexing and Demultiplexing: Multiplexer and de-multiplexer are devices respectively used to combine or to divide number of signals.The information transformation capacity over an optical fiber is maximized by multiplexing several signals on to a single fiber usually. By using appropriate filter at the receiver terminal, the individual signal can be extracted, this is called demultiplexing. The different types of multiplexing areWavelength division multiplexing(WDM) and Time division multiplexing(TDM). Signals from different wavelengths from different channels are getting transported together in WDM whereas the signal from same wavelength from different channels are transported one at a time using a fixed time slot in TDM.

• Optical Amplifier: Repeater are the units which are required to restore periodically the original shape and size of optical pluses which can be changed due to optical losses and dispersion during transmission through optical fiber. Themaximum repeater length of a fiber is determined by the fiber attenuation, dispersion and other losses. An optical repeater consists of a receiver and transmitter placed back-to-back. The repeater receives the optical pulse, convert it to electrical pulse then reshape, amplify and regenerate it and stream again. 13 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

• Dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM): This is an important subsystem which enhance the data transmission rate to 1Tera bits per second.With the invention of tunable lasers, which have very narrow spectral line widths(44 0.4nm), it is possible to add very closely spaced signal bands. Different waves transmit different information over a single fiber using DWDM.

• Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI): With the development of optical communication, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) has outshined the conventional network. It is operating at a rate of 100 Mbps and can be extended to hundreds of kilometers without degrading the system performance. FDDI is made up of two pairs of independent, counter rotating rings. These dual pairs of counter rotating rings represent the basic concept behind FDDI operation. One ring pair is defined as the primary and other is called secondary. Ordinarily, the primary pair is used for data transmission and secondary is kept as backup. In the event of a break in the ring or a node failure the signal is stored back to the backup ring to maintain the continuity in communication.

Advantages

• The size and weight of the optical fiber is less in comparison to copper cable.

• Fiber-optic systems are immune to electromagnetic interference.

• No electrical connection is needed between sender and receiver.

• Optical fiber communication is more secured.

• Tear and wear of optical fiber by different environmental conditions is less in comparison to copper cable.

• Optical fibers have very low transmission losses because of their ultra-purity.

• Bandwidth of optical fiber is high than that of an equivalent copper cable transmission.

• Higher data transmission rate.

Conclusion

Tough the raw material for making optical fibers is huge and cheap,optical fibers are still more expensive than copper cable. Optical fiberscannot be joined together as easily as copper cable. Again, fiber optic component and connection are costly. In spite of that the telecommunications and broadcasting industrieshave already invested in it showing keen interest in its future development, as onefiber can carry many more signals than a single copper cable. Requirement of repeater is less as transmission distance is more and so overall cost and running cost become economical. In addition, with a device called optical coupler, a single fiber can transmit at the same time in both directions. Because of this reason optical fiber now rules the communication technology.

14 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 References :

AlTTC, Ghaziabad (2001): Optical Communication &DWDM, Handout of Inservice Courses of Telephone Personnel,April,16-20 De, Anuradha (2004): Optical Fiber and Laser, Principles and Applications, New Age International Publishers (Second Edition) Ghatak A. and Thyagaranjan, K. (1998): Introduction to Fiber Optics, Cambridge University Press Rao, M. M. (2000): Optical Communication, University Press (India) Ltd. Sankar, S. Kr. (1997): Optical Fibers andFiber Optic Communication System. S. Chand & Co. Ltd.

15 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Tsallis Holographic Dark Energy Model in Higher Dimension

ArindamSaha*

Abstract This paper deals with Tsallis holographic dark energy (THDE) model in the framework of compact Kaluza- Klain (KK) cosmology. We investigate the evolution of universe which is assumed to be filled with non- interacting pressure less matter and THDE as dark energy (DE) candidate. It is found that this model is theoretically powerful to describe the late time accelerated phase of the universe. We note that the model behaves as the phantom source and the stability of the model is seen to depend on the THDE parameter.

Keywords

Kaluza-Klein Cosmology, Dark energy, Tsallis holographic dark energy, IR cut-off, Cosmological parameters.

Introduction

Improvement in observational techniques, particularly during last few decades, has facilitated remarkable change in our understanding of universe. It is generally accepted now that our universe is presently passing through a phase of acceleration (Riess, A G. et al. 1998; Perlmutter S. et al. 1998, 1990, 2003). Such a phase of expansion cannot be accommodated in the standard GR with ordinary matter and radiation only. By modifications of the gravitational sector of the Einstein-Hilbert action a number of models came up in the literatures (Starobinsky A. A. 1980; Barrow J D. et al. 1983; Nojiri S. et al. 2004; Caldwell R R. 2002) to incorporate accelerated expansion in the late universe. In this context a polynomial form of Lagrangian described by f(R) known as modified theories of gravity, in the gravitational Lagrangian density is important. The other way to reconcile this acceleration is by invoking a strange cosmic fluid, namely dark energy(DE). A simple dark energy model can be build incorporating a cosmological constant, but its small value cannot be accounted for from our present understanding of quantum theory. Observations suggest that dark energy (energy with negative pressure) contributes around 70% of present-day energy density and a sustained effort is put in to determine its exact equation of state (Nojiri S. et al. 2004; BambaK. 2012). Apart from dark energy cosmological as well as local observations in galactic scale suggest the presence of dark matter which seems to interact only through gravitational field. Estimated contribution from this dark matter is around 25%.

Alternatively, it is now considered from cosmological observations that cosmological model containing more than one fluid may be interesting for obtaining viable cosmology. In general, the fluid describing the matter

*Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal Email: [email protected] Received: 17 May 2017 / Accepted: 23 August 2017 16 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 content of a universe are considered to be non-interacting. In the standard cosmological model with cold dark matter (CDM), dark energy, baryon-photon fluid, neutrinos are usually considered to be decoupled. However, in the early universe these fluids might be coupled through annihilation and/or scattering processes. Detail primordial interactions of these fluids are described in literatures (Uzan J. 1952; Thorne K. S.et al. 1981; EllisG. F. R.et al. 1983). Although one can construct a model of the universe with perfect fluids without interaction, it is important to probe cosmologies containing fluids that can exchange energy among themselves. This type of interacting nature of a mixture of fluids may be important to explore the late universe particularly, the recent accelerating phase of the universe (Armendariz-Picon C. 2000;Riess A. G. et al. 2004) and the cosmic coincidence problem (Guo Z. K., 2005; Pavon D. 2005).

The concept of non-Euclidean geometry proposed by Riemann led to a formalism to describe geometry of arbitrary dimensional manifold. Guided by this idea Cliord, Helmholtz and Hinton in late 1800 speculated a higher dimensional space-time. The concept of extra-dimensions is found important to realize unification of the fundamental forces in nature including quantization of the gravitation. A higher dimensional theory was proposed by Kaluza (Kaluza T. 1921) and Klein (Klein O. 1926). Kaluza and Klein introduced an extra dimension to unify gravity with electromagnetism and the resulting theory of gravity based on a compact space-time is known as Kaluza-Klein theory (in short, KK). This theory has the additional advantage of inducing matter in 4D by 5D vacuum theory. According to Campbell’s theorem, the curvature of the five dimensional space-time also induces effective properties of matter in four dimensions.

Recently, a new form of dark energy based on holographic notion has been proposed considering the existence of some cosmic horizon. In the realm of quantum gravity, holographic principle has been an important candidate for studying dark energy models (Susskind L. 1995; Cohen A. 1999). One of the characteristic features of holographic dark energy model (HDE hereafter) is the long-distance cut off, also known as infrared cut off (IR cut off hereafter) which is not uniquely defined in cosmology and indeed the various IR cut offs lead to different HDE models. Another important characteristic feature of HDE model is the horizon entropy that can produce profound change in the HDE models. It was observed that HDE could not give rise recent acceleration (Hsu S. D. H. 2004). But Setare (Setare M. R. 2007) obtained holographic model of interacting dark energy with an equation of state in a non-flat (closed) universe and later Zimdahl and Pavn showed that interaction in the dark energy sector could solve the problem. Standard HDE models can be modified in many different ways. Application of Tsallis statistics to the system horizon leads to Tsallis Holographic Dark Energy (THDE) models, capable of obtaining Bekenstein entropy and showing good stability by themselves (Majhi A. 2017; Abe S. 2001; Touchette H. 2004; Biro T. S.et al. 2011). Quantum gravity considerations have also confirmed functional behavior of Tsallis’s entropy content of a system which is a power law function of system area (Tsallis C.et al. 2013). TDHE models have been successfully implemented in cosmology considering different dark energy models.

Interacting dark energy models have been studied in compact KK framework recently (Sharif M. et al. 2011). In the present work we study the dynamics of compact flat and non-flat KK universe filled with a pressure less matter and THDE. In the next section, relevant field equations of KK cosmology, are set up. In section (3) we briefly discuss the motivation for THDE and THDE model. Thereafter in section (4) the cosmic evolution is investigated for both flat and closed universes and finally the findings are discussed in section (5).

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Field Equations in the Framework of Kaluza-Klein Cosmology

The dynamics of universe is governed by Einstein field equation is given by:

1 R g R  kT (1) ABABAB2

where A and B runs from 0 to 4, RAB is the Ricci tensor, R is the Ricci scalar and TAB is the energy-momentum tensor. The 5-dimensional spacetime metric of Kaluza-Klein (KK) cosmology is (Ozel C. et al. 2010) the following:

dr 2 ds2 dt 2  a 2( t )[  r 2 ( d 2  sin 2  d  2 )  (1  kr 2 ) d  2 ] (2) 1 kr 2 where a(t) denotes the scale factor and k = 0,1(-1) represents the curvature parameter for flat and closed(open) universe. The Einstein’s field equation for the metric given by (2) becomes:

a 2 k p 6  (3) a2 a 2

a a  2 k p  3  3  3 (4) a2 a 2 a 2

a The Hubble parameter is defined as H  and the covariant derivative of five-dimensional energy-momentum a

AB tensor T;B  0 yields the continuity equation:

 4H ( p   )  0. (5)

Using the equation of state in five dimensions, the equation of continuity reduces to

 4H  (1   )  0, (6)

where the total energy density  d   m   k , where d corresponds to dark energy and m is for matter including Cold Dark Matter (CDM) with m  0 . We see that k and pk satisfy energy conservation law independently, i.e.,k 4HP (  k  k )  0 and using the equation of state pk  k  k , where k  1/ 3,

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2 we have k  k 0 (1  z ) . For non-interacting fluid, the conservation equations for pd,  d and pm,  m are seperately satisfied. For interacting dark energy models:

m4HQ  m  (7)

d4HQ  d (1   d )   (8)

where Q gives the interaction between dark energy and dark matter. We consider Q  d ,  being the decay rate this gives the decay of DE into CDM, the eûective equation of state can be defined (Setare M.R. 2007) as:

 eff    d d 4H

1  and eff   , (9) m r4 H

m where we denote the ratio of the energy densities r  . d

Then we obtain from the continuity equations:

eff m4H  m (1   m )  0 (10)

eff d4H  d (1   m )  0 (11)

Friedmann equation in non-flat KK universe can be rewritten in terms of Hubble parameter:

2 k 1 H  (m   d ), (12) a2 6

2 where we set M p 1. Density parameters are defined as:

m  d k m ,  d   k  2 2 (13) cr  cr , a H

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2 where cr  6H . Eq. (12) can be written in terms of density parameters as:

m   d 1   k (14)

Using Eqs. (13) and (14) we obtain:

1 k r 1  (15) d

Taking the time derivative of Eq. (12) and using Eq. (7), Eq. (8), Eq.(15) we get

H   2(1   ) (16) H 2 k d d

TSALLIS HOLOGRAPHIC DARK ENERGY AND TDHE MODEL

As stated earlier, the application of Tsallis statistics to the system horizon leads to Tsallis Holographic Dark Energy models. Tsallis entropy is non extensive in nature. Here the black hole horizon entropy is modified as SA   , where  denotes the non-extensive parameter and  is an unknown constant. Bekenstein entropy can be obtained as a limiting case from Tsallis entropy. THDE models also show good stability by themselves. Quantum gravity considerations have also confirmed functional behavior of Tsallis’s entropy content of a system which is a power law function of system area (Tsallis C. et al. 2013). In the present work we use apparent horizon as IR cut off which coincides with Hubble horizon.

Based on the holographic principle and using this entropy expression, the energy density of a new holographic dark energy, namely TDHE, is given by

2  4 d  BL (17) where B is an unknown parameter and the infrared cutoû of the universe is L. We consider the Hubble horizon as IR cutoff:

1 r  L (18) H H In this manner the energy density for THDE can be written as

2  4 d  BH (19)

Hence the corresponding density parameter for THDE is obtained as

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1 2  2   BH (20) d 6 The decay rate (WangB. 2005) is given by

 4b2 (1  r ) H (21) Making use of Eqs. (8), (16), (21), (9) and (19) we obtain the effective EoS parameter as:

2 eff 2(1 )  (2   )[2( k  1)b   k ] d  (22) 2[1 (2  ) d ]

H The deceleration parameter, defined as  1  , is obtained as H 2

2 [2(1 )  (2   ) k ]  d  2b (1   k )] q (1  k )  (23) [1 (2  ) d ] Combining the time derivative of Eq. (9), with Eq. (16) and Eq. (19) one gets

dd2(  1)  d 2 'd   [2(1   d )   k  2b (1   k )] (24) d(ln a ) 1 (2  ) d Stability of dark energy model can be discussed based on squared sound speed. So, we also look for squared sound speed that may be defined as:

2 dpd vd  . (25) dd

2 The model is stable if vd  0 (Setare M.R. 2007). For our model this leads to:

2 dpd p d vd   (26) dd  d

pd is given by:

eff eff p d d  d   d  d (27) where over dot is differentiation with respect to time. Hence,

2 2 2 eff k(1 k 2 d d )(2b  1) (1   ) d [2(1   ) (2  )[2 b (  k 1) k ]] vd d   2 (28) 2[k 2(1 k d d )][1 (2  ) d ] 2[1  (2  ) d ]

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Cosmological Evolution of Flat Non-Interacting Universe:

Using Eqs. (22), (23) and (24) one obtains:

 1 d  , (29) (2 ) d  1

d 1 q  , (30) (2 ) d  1

1 4(1   ) and d(1   d ) c (1  z ) (31)

1 where c is the integration constant and it is given by c  d0(1   d 0 ) , with d 0 being the present value of the density parameter for dark energy. To describe the cosmic evolution the d 0 , d and q parameters are plotted as function of the redshift parameter z for different value of model parameter  in the following Figures. (1), (2) and (3) respectively. From these figures it is obvious that our 5D Tsallis Holographic dark energy model can provide acceptable behavior for d, d and q.

Figure 1: The evolution of Ωd with z for di erent values of in at KK universe. Here, 1 Ωd0= 0.73, and 0 = 0.07 .

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Figure 2: The evolution of d with z for diûerent values of in ûat KK universe. Here, &!d0= 0.73, and

.

Figure 3: The evolution of q with z for diûerent values of in ûat KK universe. Here, , and

Figure 4: The evolution of versus redshift parameter for diûerent values of in ûat KK uni- verse. Here, , and .

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Figure (1) shows that for z >1 i.e, in the remote past d  0 representing the matter dominated era. At current era where z = 0 (a = 1), d  0.73 and d 1 as one moves towards future. It can be clearly observed from Figure (2) that the EoS parameter of the model remains phantom irrespective of choice of model parameter  during cosmic evolution. Figure (3) shows a smooth transition from decelerated to accelerated universe with desired asymptotic behavior independent of the choice of model parameter  . The deceleration parameter (q) value goes to negative in recent past suggesting a late time acceleration of universe. From the Eq. (29), one can find that the value of the parameter  must be greater than one ( >1), otherwise 1 at the redshift for which   , , shows a diverging behaviour. However, in flat higher dimensional d2  d universe Eq. (28) finally leads to

2 (1 )(1  d ) v  2 (32) [1 d (2  )]

The above equation indicates that the stability of the model depends on model parameter. Since 0 d  1 and our model permits only  1,v2  0 which indicates unstability of the model during cosmic evolution.

Figure 5: The evolution of with for diûerent values of in non-ûat KK universe. Here, , and .

Cosmological Evolution of Non-Flat Universe:

For a non-flat KK universe fifiled by THDE and pressure less we obtain cosmological parameters as below:

2(1 )  (2   ) k d  (33) 2[1 (2  ) d ]

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[2(1 )  (2   ) k ]  d q 1  k  (34) 1 (2  ) d and the evolution of density parameter are calculated as

2(  1) d d'  [2(1   d )   k ] (35) 1 (2  ) d

To study the stability, we have obtained the square speed of sound:

2 (1 )d [2(1   ) (2  ) k ]  k (1 k 2  d d ) v d 2  (36) 2[1d (2 )] 2[  k 2(1 k 2  d d )][1  (2  ) d ]

The system parameters have been plotted versus z for different values of model parameter  in Figures. (5),

(6), (7) and (8). The evolution of the system parameters including d, d , q and show satisfactory behaviour by themselves. It is interresting to note that for some value of model parameter δ the model begins to show stability at present time as well as from past and continue to depict the same in future also. From these figures one can note that the model behaves as the phantom source and the universe enters the accelerated phase with EoSd  1.

Figure 6: The evolution of with z for different values of δ in non-flat KK universe. Here, , and .

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Figure 7: The evolution of q with z for different values of δ in non-flat KK universe. Here, , and .

Figure 8: The evolution of v2 versus redshift parameter z for diûerent values of δ in non-ϋat KK universe. Here, , and .

DISCUSSION

We have considered here Tsallis holographic dark energy (THDE) model in both flat and non-flat compact KK cosmological framework. A few features of interest are noted:

(a) In both models i.e., in flat and non-flat (closed) universe the model parameters like d, d , q and have shown acceptable behaviour as desired according to present observations. Thus, the THDE model with Hubble horizon as IR cutoff in higher dimensional compact KK universe can explain the current acceleration of the evolution of universe, but the usual HDE model cannot lead to an accelerated universe using same cutoff (Li M. 2004).

(b) The energy density remains phantom irrespective of choice of model parameter  in both flat and non-flat compact KK universe.

26 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 (c) In flat model the deceleration parameter (q) value goes to negative in recent past suggesting a late time acceleration of universe. In the non-flat model, the deceleration parameter goes to negative value in remote past compared to the other model.

(d) It has been observed that THDE model is not stable in flat KK universe during comic evolution. In non-flat KK universe, on the other hand, THDE model shows stability in the present time and also in future for appropriate choice of model parameter  .

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27 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Perlmutter S. et al. (1999): Astron. J., 517, 565

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Light Pollution - A Lesser - Known Problem

Sobhan Niyogi*

Abstract

Pollution is the impairment of the purity of the environment. In our present industrialized world, pollution is omnipresent either in the form of air, water, land or radiation or light. But in general discussion on light pollution luminous pollution is negligible with respect to other types of pollution. From the prehistoric time if we see that, things that changed the course of human living and well-being, are fire and wheel. However, only about 130 years back incandescent bulb and electricity in a combined fashion changed the way we look at the world after the sun is set. For many, work, travel, shopping, exercise and socializing in hours that used to be reserved for relaxation and sleep have become a norm. Time is a limited resource and, to make full use of it, the night has been illuminated and occupied and is being used as extended daytime as if. Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected, refracted light, of scattering rays from over lit cities and towns, from light-flooded highways and factories i.e., “mankind is proceeding to envelop itself in a luminous fog”. According to a growing band of scientists and doctors, many people no longer getting enough darkness in their lives, which are very much needed to live a healthy life because our biological rhythms evolved in a time much before artificial light, to take advantage of both bright days and dark nights.Various types of light pollution have been identified: Light trespass, Over-illumination, Glare, Clutter, Sky glow. This particular type of pollution is both present in indoor and outdoor areas of human activity. Light pollution negatively influences human and wildlife health, astronomy, and the wasted energy it involves economic loss and also there is ecological problem.

Keywords

Pollution, light, health risk, melatonin

Introduction

The Major Historical events of human civilization until 1870s was (a) Fire, that changed the way human being lived in this planet and take food, (b) Wheel, that changed the way movement of human being from one place to another changed.

*Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Krishnagar Government College, West Bengal Email: [email protected] Received: 17 July 2017 / Accepted: 12 September 2017

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Next came the light in the forms of “bulb” and the commercially available electricity during 1879-1882, these duos synergistically changed the way the world looks at the world after Sun is set.

Since then, the “tube lights” and “bulbs” started to light up the homes and streets of the world town and cities mainly during Sun is set. For many human beings, night has become day. People work, travel, shop, exercise and socialize in hours that used to be reserved for relaxation and sleep. Time is a limited resource and, to make full use of it, the night has been illuminated and occupied. Even when we do sleep, streetlamps and security lights pierce the darkness. Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected and refracted light, of scattering rays from over lit cities, suburbs, from light-flooded highways and factories. Nearly all of night-time Europe is a nebula of light, as is most of the United States and all of Japan and India. In the south Atlantic the glow from a single fishing fleet—squid fishermen luring their prey with metal halide lamps—can be seen from space, burning brighter, in fact, than Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro.

But freedom from the natural constraints of day and night for human being may have come at a price.

According to a growing band of scientists and doctors, many people no longer getting enough darkness in their lives. The theory is based on a simple premise. Biological rhythms in human being evolved in a time before artificial light, to take advantage of both bright days and dark nights. By succumbing to the temptations of 24-hour living, and ignoring or reducing our natural dark time, human being could be putting their health at risk.

So, with passage of time the use of lighting of both indoor and outdoor areas of anthropogenic activity in every sphere of life continued to grow. It grew to such an extent that we are now flooding the night-time with light. Some of these lighting may not be necessary at all. Every single extra watt of light is leaving a carbon footprint elsewhere which we should not forget.

In the case of light, the polluting agents are photons of corresponding energy, or electromagnetic waves of corresponding frequency, artificially added to the environment.

Light pollution has been described as “One of the most rapidly increasing alterations to the natural environment;” a problem whereby “mankind is proceeding to envelop itself in a luminous fog”.

Sources of light Pollution

Light pollution is due to many problems caused by annoying use of artificial light. These include:

Light trespass: This occurs when unwelcome light from outside enters one’s home or property.

Over-illumination: This is an excessive use of light on residential, commercial and industrial grounds.

Glare: When there is an excess of contrast between dark and light areas in one’s field of view, glare results.

30 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Clutter: Excessive groupings of lights are usually called clutter since they cause a lot of confusion and distract one’s attention and cause accidents.

Sky glow: This refers to the glow effect that one can see overpopulated areas. Sky glow can be either natural or man-made, mainly due to reflection of light.

(Indoor) Light pollution is such alteration of light levels in the indoor environment due to sources of light, which compromises human health.

(Outdoor) Light pollution is the alteration of light levels in the outdoor environment (from those present naturally) due to man-made sources of light.

Effects of light pollution:

Many species (including humans) need darkness to survive and thrive’ because: Our biological rhythms evolved in a time much before artificial light and evolution is a very lengthy process:

· Human Health Risk · Socio-economic Risk · Ecological Risk

The attempt to erase the night—or at least to confine it to minimum—may come with a price. At a minimum, it can lead to a chronic lack of sleep, diminishing the effectiveness of the body’s immune system. Some new studies, however, suggest the possibility of an even more worrisome threat.

Increased Cancer Risks

Figure 1: N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine There is now significant evidence showing that exposure to light at night can disrupt the body’s production of melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), a brain hormone best known for its daily role in resetting the body’s biological clock. Secreted primarily in the brain, and at night, melatonin triggers a host of biochemical activities, including a nocturnal reduction in the body’s production of oestrogen. Research has shown that decreasing nocturnal melatonin production increases an individual’s risk of developing oestrogen-related malignancies, such as breast cancer.Melatonin has been studied as a potential treatment of cancer, immune

31 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 disorders, cardiovascular diseases, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), circadian rhythm sleep disorders, obesityand some forms of insomnia. Melatonin is called “the Dracula hormone” because it always comes out at night. But its production can be severely reduced by bright artificial light (Míguez et al.1997). The pineal gland – a small endocrine gland nestled between the two hemispheres of the brain releases two hormones, cortisol (that gives us energy) and melatonin (that makes us sleepy) regulate our sleep-wake up rhythm. In 1958, it was discovered that the rice grain sized gland transformed serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) into melatonin and regulated wake/sleep patterns and it also have definite role in human immunity development (Xie et al. 2017) Studies now under way are also testing which wavelengths or colours are most biologically active. For instance, blue (475 nm) and green (510 nm) light appear especially effective at inhibiting melatonin synthesis in healthy young men, according to studies by (Spitschan 2016). Tosini G. et.al. have also shown that blue light is a factor which damages the photoreceptor of eyes (Tosini G. et al. 2016)

Psychological Stresses Living within the arctic circles can exhibit psychological stresses on inhabitants, due to the 24-hour daylight in summer, and 24-hour darkness in winter. Suicide rates in Finland are one of the highest in the world. Many would guess that the 24 hours of darkness would be the most stressful time, but apparently not. The thesis of Dr Helina Hakko states “A significant excess of total suicides was found during spring/summer (May-July) and a significant trough during winter/spring (December-March) months” (Hakko 2000). The 24-hour daylight appears to cause more stress and suicides than at any other time of the year. Other health problems can occur in children- • Scientists have warned that children who sleep with a light on during the night could be ruining their eyesight.

32 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 • US scientists found that children who sleep with a light on are more likely to grow up short-sighted and having to wear glasses, when compared to children who sleep in the dark. • Leaving lights on at night “...could lead to a disruption of sleeping patterns, hyper-activity and may have a negative impact on a child’s health.” • Another researcher has advised parents not to let children sleep with the light on because of a potential - though unproven - connection between artificial light at night and childhood leukaemia. The incidence of leukaemia in children under five rose by 50% in the second half of the 20th century, leading some scientists to point the finger at our increased reliance on artificial light. Headaches, worker fatigue, stress and increase in blood pressure has also been observed. Nightshift workers are at increased risk of a range of health problems, from stress, constipation and stomach ulcers to depression, heart disease and cancer (Kim 2013, Kloog 2008, Tonks 1999).

Similarly, in the last one decade the use of smart phone is also increasing in an alarming rate by all. The blue light which enters the eyes from the phone screen is also showing various negative effects on our health system (Chang 2017) Economics: In the US, roughly 6 percent of the 4,054 million mega-watt hours (MWh) of electricity produced are used for outdoor lighting and an estimated 30% of this is wasted as light pollution (California Energy Commission 2005). This translates into 72.9 million MWh of electricity needlessly being generated at a cost of $7 billion a year. Furthermore, this unnecessary electricity usage generated an additional 66 million metric tons of CO2.Other side of the economic loss involves the extra lighting arrangements (Gallaway 2010). Ecological Risk:

Light pollution disrupts the migration patterns of nocturnal birds and can cause hatchling sea turtles to head inland, away from the sea, and be eaten by predators or run over by cars. One of the most visible effects of light pollution on nature is the negative effect on insects. Light when falls on a big sized glass window it changes its nature to polarized light –this nature of light mimics that as if it is being reflected from a water body and insects are attracted towards that and dies out of various factors (Salmon 2003, Gábor 2009).

Lack of awareness, rather than resistance, is generally the biggest problem in controlling light pollution. Some cities, like Chicago, have implemented “lights out” programs where tall building lights are dimmed during bird migratory seasons. The effort is thought to save more than 10’000 birds each year. Estimates by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the number of birds killed after being attracted to tall towers range from 4-5 million per year to an order of magnitude higher.

Light pollution also interferes with both professional and amateur astronomy byreducing the visibility of galaxies, nebulae, and other celestial objects. As a relatedmatter, light pollution does tremendous damage to a unique scenic resource - the night.

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References

Gábor H., Kriska G., Malik P., Robertson B. (2009): “Polarized light pollution: a new kind of ecological photopollution”, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, August7 (6): 317–325

Gallaway T, Reed N. et.al. (2010): “The economics of global light pollution”, Ecological Economics, Volume 69, Issue 3, 15: 658-665 Hakko H. (2000): “Seasonal variation of suicides and homicides in finland”, Ph.D thesis of Univ of Oulu, Finland Heo J. H., Kim K., Fava M., Mischoulon D., Papakostas G. I., Kim M. J., Kim D.J., Chang J., Oh Y., Yu B. H.., Jeon H. J. (2017): “Effects of Smartphone Use with and without Blue Light at Night in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-blind, Cross-over, Placebo controlled Comparison”, Journal of Psychiatric Research, 87, 61–70

Kim, M.J., K.H. Son, H.Y., Park, D.J. Choi, C.H. Yoon, H.Y. Lee, E.Y. Cho and M.C. Cho (2013): “Association between Shift Work and Obesity among Female Nurses: Korean Nurses’ Survey”, BMC Public Health, 13: 1204

Kloog, I., A. Haim, R. G. Stevens, M. Barchana and B. A. Portnov (2008): “Light at Night Co- distributes with Incident Breast but Not Lung Cancer in the Female Population of Israel”,Chronobiology International, 25 (1): 65–81

Míguez J. M., Martín F. J., Aldegunde M (1997): “Melatonin effects on serotonin synthesis and metabolism in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, and dorsal and median raphe nuclei of rats”, Neurochemical Research, Vol 22, p-87-92

Salmon M. (2003): “Artificial night lighting and sea turtles”, Biologist, 50: 163–168

Spitschan M., Aguirre G. K., Brainard D. H. & Sweeney A. M. (2016): “Variation of outdoor illumination as a function of solar elevation and light pollution”, Scientific reports (Nature), 1-13 Tonks A. (1999): “Children who sleep with light on may damage their sight”, BMJ., May 22; 318(7195): 1369 Tosini G., I. Ferguson, K. Tsubota (2016): “Effects of blue light on the circadian system and eye physiology”, Molecular Vision, 22, 61–72 Xie Z., Chen F., Wa L. et. (2017): “A review of sleep disorders and melatonin”, Neurol Res 2017; 39:559-565

34 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

Bioremediation: A tribute to Green Chemistry

Rajarshi Chatterjee*

Abstract

Bioremediation is a waste management technique that involves the use of organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated site. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), bioremediation is a “treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non-toxic substances”. Here the microbes are used to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater. Thus it is a biological mechanism of recycling wastes into another form that can be used and reused by other organisms. Microorganisms are essential for a key alternative solution to overcome the challenges of different environmental pollutions. Bioremediation uses degradation, eradication, immobilization, or detoxification of diverse chemical wastes and physical hazardous materials such as hydrocarbons, oil, heavy metals, pesticides, dye’s, etc. from the surrounding through the all-inclusive and action of microorganisms. There are two types of factors called biotic and abiotic conditions, which determine the rate of degradation. Currently, different methods and strategies such as bio-stimulation, bio-augmentation, bio-venting, bio-piles and bio-attenuation are commonly used in different parts of the world. All of these techniques have their own advantages and disadvantages due to their own specific application. This detoxification process follows the principle of “Green Chemistry” where the supercritical water oxidation reactions as well as solid state reactions are executed as a selective method that least disturbs the environment, which corresponds to the strategy of sustainable development in the eco-system security. The green chemistry is the chemical research and engineering which aims to promote the design of products and processes that minimize the use and formation of hazardous substances. While the chemistry of the environment deals with the natural environment and chemical pollution in nature, the green chemistry aims to decrease and prevent the formation of contamination at its sources.

Keywords

Bioremediation, microorganisms, biotic factors, redox reactions

Introduction

Microorganisms are widely distributed on the biosphere because of their metabolic ability is very impressive and they can easily grow in a wide range of environmental conditions. Bioremediation stimulates the growth of

*Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, A.B.N. Seal College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal Email: [email protected] Received: 16 August 2017 / Accepted: 6 October 2017

35 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 certain microbes that use contaminants as a source of food and energy. Contaminants treated using bioremediation include oil and other petroleum products, solvents, and pesticides. The nutritional versatility of microorganisms can also be exploited for biodegradation of pollutants. This kind of process is based on the ability of certain microorganisms to convert, modify and utilize toxic pollutants for obtaining energy and biomass production in the process as shown by Tang et al. (2007). Instead of simply collecting the pollutant and storing it, bioremediation is a microbiological well organized procedural activity which is applied to break down or transform contaminates to less toxic or non-toxic elemental and compound forms. Strong et al. (2008) proved that bio-remediators are biological agents used for bioremediation in order to clean up contaminated sites. Bacteria, algae and fungi are typical prime bio-remediators. Bioremediation and biodegradation terms are more interchangeable words. Microorganisms act as a significant pollutant removal tools in soil, water, and sediments; mostly due to their advantage over other remediation procedural protocols. Microorganisms are restoring the original natural surroundings and preventing further pollution as evidenced by Demnerova et al. (2005). The aim of review is to convey current trends in application and contribution of microorganisms on bioremediation. Presently, it is a booming research area because microorganisms are eco-friendly and promising valuable genetic materials to solve environmental threats.

Microbes- how does it work?

Some types of microbes eat and digest contaminants, usually changing them into small amounts of water and harmless gases like carbon dioxide and ethene. If soil and groundwater do not have enough of the right microbes, they can be added in a process called “bioaugmentation.” i.e. Addition of bacterial cultures required to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant. For bioremediation to be effective, the right temperature, nutrients, and food also must be present. Proper conditions allow the right microbes to grow and multiply— and eat more contaminants. If conditions are not right, microbes grow too slowly or die, and contaminants are not cleaned up. Fantroussi and Agathos (2005) found that conditions may be improved by adding “amendments.” Amendments range from household items like molasses and vegetable oil, to air and chemicals that produce oxygen. Amendments are often pumped underground through wells to treat soil and groundwater in situ (in place). The conditions necessary for bioremediation in soil cannot always be achieved in situ, however. At some sites, the climate may be too cold for microbes to be active, or the soil might be too dense to allow amendments to spread evenly underground. At such sites, EPA might dig up the soil to clean it “ex situ” (above ground) on a pad or in tanks. The soil may then be heated, stirred, or mixed with amendments to improve conditions. Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. In situ bioremediation involves treating the contaminated material at the site, while ex situ involves the removal of the contaminated material to be treated elsewhere.

Bioremediation – Its underlying chemistry

Most bioremediation processes involve oxidation-reduction (Redox) reactions where a chemical species donates an electron (electron donor) to a different species that accepts the electron (electron acceptor). Common electron acceptors in bioremediation processes include oxygen, nitrate, manganese (III and IV), iron (III), sulfate, carbon dioxide and some pollutants (chlorinated solvents, explosives, oxidized metals, and radio nuclides). Electron donors include sugars, fats, alcohols, natural organic material, fuel hydrocarbons and

36 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 a variety of reduced organic pollutants. For more clarification, some processes along with their respective chemical reactions are given below.

Process Reactions involved

- + Aerobic O2 + 4e + 4H  2H2O

- - + Denitrification 2NO3 + 10e + 12H  N2 + 6H2O

- + 2+ Iron(III) reduction Fe(OH)3 + e + 3H  Fe + 3H2O

2- - + Sulfate reduction SO4 + 8e +10 H  H2S + 4H2O

Fermentation 2CH2O  CO2 + CH4

Technologies related to bioremediation Some examples of bioremediation related technologies are phytoremediation, bioventing, bioleaching, landfarming, bioreactor, composting, bioaugmentation, rhizofiltration, and biostimulation.

Phytoremediation (from Ancient Greek UTO (phyto), meaning “plant”, and Latin remedium, meaning (“restoring balance”) describes the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it elsewhere.

Bioventing provides oxygen to stimulate naturally occurring soil microorganisms to degrade compounds in soil. The rate of natural degradation is generally limited by the lack of oxygen and other electron acceptors (i.e., a compound that gains electrons during biodegradation) rather than by the lack of nutrients (i.e., electron donors). In conventional bioventing systems, oxygen is delivered by an electric blower to subsurface wells. In contrast to soil vapor vacuum extraction, bioventing uses low airflow rates to provide only enough oxygen to sustain microbial activity.

Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. It is one of the several applications within biohydrometallurgy and several methods are used to recover copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt. Bioleaching can involve numerous ferrous iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria, including Acidithiobacillusferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus (formerly known as Thiobacillus). As a general principle, Fe3+ ions are used to oxidize the ore. This step is entirely independent of microbes. The role of the bacteria is the further oxidation of the ore, but also the regeneration of the chemical oxidant Fe3+ from Fe2+.

Landfarming is a bioremediation treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in bio treatment cells. Contaminated soils, sediments, or sludge are incorporated into the soil surface and periodically turned over (tilled) to aerate the mixture. This technique has been used for years in the management and disposal of oily sludge and other petroleum refinery wastes.

37 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Bioreactor may refer to any manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. This process can either be aerobic or anaerobic. These bioreactors are commonly cylindrical, ranging in size from litres to cubic meters, and are often made of stainless steel.

Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At the simplest level, the process of composting simply requires making a heap of wetted organic matter known as green waste (leaves, food waste) and waiting for the materials to break down into humus after a period of weeks or months. Modern, methodical composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air, and carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture. Worms and fungi further break up the material. Aerobic bacteria and fungi manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide and ammonium + + ion (NH4 ), the form of nitrogenous species used by plants. When available (NH4 ) is not used by plants it is - further converted by bacteria into nitrates (NO3 ) through the process of nitrification. Bioaugmentation is the addition of bacterial cultures required to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant. Usually the steps involve studying the indigenous varieties present in the location to determine if bio stimulation is possible. If the indigenous variety do not have the metabolic capability to perform the remediation process, exogenous varieties with such sophisticated pathways are introduced. It is commonly used in municipal wastewater treatment to restart activated sludge bioreactors. Most cultures available contain a research based consortium of microbial cultures, containing all necessary microorganisms (B. licheniformis, B. thurengensis, P. polymyxa, B. sterothemophilus, Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Flavobacterium, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, Saccaromyces, Triphoderma, etc) whereas activated sludge systems are generally based on microorganisms like bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, rotifers and fungi capable to degrade bio degradable organic matter.

Rhizofiltration is a form of phytoremediation that involves filtering water through a mass of roots to remove toxic substances or excess nutrients. It refers to the approach of using hydroponically cultivated plant roots to remediate contaminated water through absorption, concentration, and precipitation of pollutants. It also filters through water and dirt. The contaminated water is either collected from a waste site or brought to the plants, or the plants are planted in the contaminated area, where the roots then take up the water and the contaminants dissolved in it. Many plant species naturally uptake heavy metals and excess nutrients for a variety of reasons: sequestration, drought resistance, disposal by leaf abscission, interference with other plants, and defense against pathogens and herbivores. Some of these species are better than others and can accumulate extraordinary amounts of these contaminants. Identification of such plant species has led environmental researchers to realize the potential for using these plants for remediation of contaminated soil and wastewater.

How long will it take? It may take a few months or even several years for microbes to clean up a site, depending on several factors. For example, bioremediation will take longer where:

38 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 • Contaminant concentrations are high, or contaminants are trapped in hard-to-reach areas, like rock fractures and dense soil.

• The contaminated area is large or deep.

• Conditions such as temperature, nutrients, and microbe population must be modified.

• Cleanup occurs ex situ.

Is bio-remediation safe?

Bioremediation relies on microbes that live naturally in soil and groundwater. These microbes pose no threat to people at the site or in the community. Microbes added to the site for bioaugmentation typically die off once contamination and the conditions needed for bioremediation are gone. The chemicals added to stimulate bioremediation are safe. For example, the nutrients added to make microbes grow are commonly used on lawns and gardens, and only enough nutrients to promote bioremediation are added. To ensure that the treatment is working and to measure progress, samples of soil and groundwater are tested regularly.

Biotic factors

Biotic factors affect the degradation of organic compounds through competition between microorganisms for limited carbon sources, antagonistic interactions between microorganisms or the predation of microorganisms by protozoa and bacteriophages. The rate of contaminant degradation is often dependent on the concentration of the contaminant and the amount of “catalyst” present. In this context, the amount of “catalyst” represents the number of organisms able to metabolize the contaminant as well as the amount of enzymes(s) produced by each cell. The expression of specific enzymes by the cells can increase or decrease the rate of contaminant degradation. The major biological factors are included here: mutation, horizontal gene transfer, enzyme activity, interaction (competition, succession, and predation), its own growth until critical biomass is reached, population size and composition as shown by Madhavi et al. (2012) and Boopathy (2000).

Environmental factors

Growth and activity of microorganism are affected by pH, temperature, moisture, soil structure, water solubility, nutrients, site characteristics, redox potential, oxygen content, physiochemical bioavailability of pollutants. Madhavi (2012) and Adams (2015) found that these factors determine kinetics of degradation. Biodegradation can occur under a wide-range of pH; however, a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 is generally optimal for biodegradation in most aquatic and terrestrial systems. Moisture influences the rate of contaminant metabolism because it influences the kind and amount of soluble materials that are available as well as the osmotic pressure and pH of terrestrial and aquatic systems as checked by Lorenzo (2005). Most environmental factors are listed below.

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Availability of nutrients

The addition of nutrients adjusts the essential nutrient balance for microbial growth and reproduction which has direct impact on the biodegradation rate and effectiveness. Couto (2014) and Phulia (2013) experimentally proved that nutrient balancing especially the supply of essential nutrients such as N and P can improve the biodegradation efficiency by optimizing the bacterial C: N: P ratio. The addition of an appropriate quantity of nutrients is a favourable strategy for increasing the metabolic activity of microorganisms. Biodegradation in aquatic environment is limited by the availability of nutrients which again is shown by Thavasi et al. (2011) Similar to the nutritional needs of other organisms; oil-eating microbes also require nutrients for optimal growth and development. Macaulay (2014) found that these nutrients are available in the natural environment but occur in low quantities.

Temperature

Das and Chandran (2011) mentioned that among the physical factors temperature is the most important one for determining the survival of microorganisms and composition of the hydrocarbons. In cold environments such as in the Arctic region, oil degradation via natural processes is very slow and puts the microbes under more pressure to clean up the spilled petroleum. Yang et al. (2009) established that the sub-zero temperature of water in this region causes the transport channels within the microbial cells to shut down or may even freeze the entire cytoplasm, thus, rendering most oleophilic microbes metabolically inactive. Biological enzymes are participated in the degradation pathway have an optimum temperature and will not have the same metabolic turnover for every temperature. Moreover, the degradation process for specific compound needs specific temperature. Temperature thus can speed up or slow down bioremediation process as it highly influences microbial physiological properties. The rate of microbial activities increases with temperature, and reaches to its maximum level at an optimum temperature. It declines suddenly with further increase or decrease in temperature and eventually stops after reaching a specific temperature.

Concentration of oxygen

Some organisms require oxygen while some others do not require oxygen which is based on the biodegradation rate. Biological degradation is carried out in aerobic and anaerobic condition, because oxygen is a gaseous requirement for most living organisms. The presence of oxygen in most cases can enhance hydrocarbon metabolism.

Moisture content

Microorganisms require adequate water to accomplish their growth. The soil moisture content have adverse effect in biodegradation agents. pH pH of compound which determines acidity or basicity of compound, has its own impact on microbial metabolic activity and also increases or decreases removal process. Asira (2013) found that the measurement of pH of

40 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 soil could indicate the potential for microbial growth. Wang et.al. (2011) verified that higher or lower pH values showed inferior results; metabolic processes are highly susceptible to even slight changes in pH.

Metal ions

Metal ions are important in small amount for bacteria and fungus, but in high quantity inhibit the metabolic activity of the cells. Metal compounds have direct and indirect impact on rate of degradation.

Toxic compounds

When in high concentrations of toxic nature of some contaminants can create toxic effects to microorganisms and slow down decontamination. The degree and mechanisms of toxicity vary with specific toxicants, their concentration, and the exposed microorganisms. Some organic and inorganic compounds are toxic to targeted life forms.

Principle of bioremediation

As we know in bioremediation, organic wastes are biologically degraded under controlled conditions to an innocuous state, or to levels below concentration limits established by regulatory authorities. Microorganisms are suited to the task of contaminant destruction because they possess enzymes that allow them to use environmental contaminants as a food. The aim of bioremediation is encouraging them to work by supplying optimum levels of nutrients and other chemicals essential for their metabolism in order to degrade/detoxify substances which are hazardous to environment and living things. All metabolic reactions are mediated by enzymes. These belong to the groups of oxidoreductases, hydrolases, lyases, transferases, isomerases and ligases. Many enzymes have a remarkably wide degradation capacity due to their non-specific and specific substrate affinity. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and activity, its application often involves the manipulation of environmental parameters to allow microbial growth and degradation to proceed at a faster rate as published by Kumar et al. (2011) Jain and Bajpai (2012) refer to complete removal of organic toxic pollutants in to harmless or naturally occurring compounds like carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds which are safe for human, animal, plant and aquatic life. Numerous mechanisms and pathways have been elucidated for the biodegradation of a wide variety of organic compounds; for instance, it is completed in the presence and absence oxygen.

The advantage of Bioremediation • It is a natural process; it takes a little time, as an acceptable waste treatment process for contaminated material such as soil. When the contaminant is degraded, the biodegradative population become declines. The residues for the treatment are usually harmless product including water carbon dioxide and cell biomass.

• It requires a very less effort and can often be carried out on site, often without causing a major disruption of normal activities. This also eliminates the need to transport quantities of waste off site and the potential threats to human health and the environment that can arise during transportation.

41 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 • It is applied in a cost effective process as it lost less than the other conventional methods (technologies) that are used for clean-up of hazardous waste. Montagnolli et al.(2015) published that it proves to be a vital method for the treatment of oil-contaminated sites.

• It also helps in complete destruction of the pollutants, many of the hazardous compounds can be transformed to harmless products, and this feature also eliminates the chance of future liability associated with treatment and disposal of contaminated material.

• It does not use any dangerous chemicals. Nutrients especially fertilizers added to make active and fast microbial growth. Commonly, used on lawns and gardens. Because of bioremediation, change of harmful chemicals into water and harmless gases, the harmful chemicals are completely destroyed which was experimented by Sharma (2012). So it is eco-friendly and sustainablewhich is substantiated byDell et al (2012) and Singh et al. (2013).

The disadvantage of Bioremediation • It is limited to those compounds that are biodegradable. Not all compounds are susceptible to rapid and complete degradation.

• There are some concerns that the products of biodegradation may be more persistent or toxic than the parent compound.

• Biological processes are often highly specific. Important site factors required for success include the presence of metabolically capable microbial populations, suitable environmental growth conditions, and appropriate levels of nutrients and contaminants.

• It is difficult to extrapolate from bench and pilot-scale studies to full-scale field operations.

• Research is needed to develop and engineer bioremediation technologies that are appropriate for sites with complex mixtures of contaminants that are not evenly dispersed in the environment. Contaminants may be present as solids, liquids and gases.

• It often takes longer than other treatment options, such as excavation and removal of soil or incineration.

• Regulatory uncertainty remains regarding acceptable performance criteria for bioremediation. There is no accepted definition of “clean”, evaluating performance of bioremediation is difficult.

42 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Types of microorganisms for bioremediation Pollutants used by microorganisms for bioremediation Microorganisms Pollutants Reference Bacillus subtilis Crudeoil Singh et al. (2013) cyanobacteria, green algae Naphthalene Sivakumar et al. (2012), diatoms and Bacillusus Lin et al. (2010) licheniformis Acinetobacter sp., aromatic hydrocarbons Simarro et al. (2013) Pseudomonas sp, and Microbacterium sp. Bacillus cereus A diesel oil Maliji et al. (2013) Micrococcus luteus, Textile Azo Dyes Hassan et al. (2013) Saccharomyces cerevisiae Heavy metals, lead, Chen and Wang (2007), Talos et al. mercury and nickel (2009), Infante et al. (2007) Acenetobactorsp, Chlorpyrifos and methyl Ravi et al. (2015) Pseudomonas sp and parathion containing Photobacterium sp. pesticides

Heavy metals cannot be destroyed biologically but only can be transformed from one oxidation state to another. Besides, bacteria are also efficient in heavy metals bioremediation. Microorganisms have developed the capabilities to protect themselves from heavy metal toxicity by various mechanisms, such as adsorption, uptake, methylation, oxidation and reduction. Microorganism’s uptake heavy metals actively (bioaccumulation) or passively (adsorption). Microbial methylation plays an important role in heavy metals bioremediation, because methylated compounds are frequently volatile. Jaysankar et al. (2008) experimented that Mercury; Hg (II) can be biomethylated by a number of different bacterial species such as Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus sp. and P. aeruginosa to gaseous methyl mercury.

Types of bioremediation

There are different types of treatment technologies or techniques under bioremediation processes. The basic bioremediation methods are: Biostimulation, attenuation, augmentation, venting and piles.

Biostimulation

It involves the modification of the environment to stimulate existing bacteria capable of bioremediation. This can be done by addition of various forms of rate limiting nutrients and electron acceptors, such as phosphorus,

43 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon (e.g. in the form of molasses). Additives are usually added to the subsurface through injection wells, although injection well technology for biostimulation purposes is still emerging. Removal of the contaminated material is also an option, albeit an expensive one. Biostimulation can be enhanced by bioaugmentation. This process, overall, is referred to as bioremediation and is an EPA-approved method for reversing the presence of oil or gas spills. The presence of small amount of pollutant can also act as stimulant by turning on the operons for bioremediation enzymes. This type of strategic path is most of the time continued in the addition of nutrients and oxygen to help indigenous microorganisms. These nutrients are the basic building blocks of life and allow microbes to create the basic requirement, for example, energy, cell biomass and enzymes to degrade the pollutant. All of them will need nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon.

Bioattenuation

Bioattenuation or natural attenuation is the eradication of pollutant concentrations from surrounding. It is carried out within biological processes which includes aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation, plant and animal uptake, physical phenomena like dispersion, dilution, diffusion, volatilization, and sorption/desorption and chemical reactions like ion exchange, complexation, abiotic transformation etc. Terms such as intrinsic remediation or biotransformation are included within the more general natural attenuation definitionby Mulligana and Yong (2004).When the environment is polluted with chemicals, nature can work in four ways to clean up as evidenced by Li et al. (2010). These are as follows: i) Tiny bugs or microbes that live in soil and groundwater use some chemicals for food. When they completely digest the chemicals, they can change them into water and harmless gases. ii) Chemicals can stick or sorb to soil, which holds them in place. This does not clean up the chemicals, but it can keep them from polluting groundwater and leaving the site. iii) As pollution moves through soil and groundwater, it can mix with clean water. This reduces or dilutes the pollution. iv) some chemicals, like oil and solvents, can evaporate, which means they change from liquids to gases within the soil. If these gases escape to the air at the ground surface, sunlight may destroy them. If the natural attenuation is not quick enough or complete enough, bioremediation will be enhanced either by bio-stimulation or bio-augmentation.

Bioaugmentation

The addition of pollutant degrading microorganisms (natural/exotic/ engineered) to augment the biodegradative capacity of indigenous microbial populations on the contaminated area is bioaugmentation. So, it is the addition of bacterial cultures required to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant. Usually the steps involved studying the indigenous varieties present in the location to determine if biostimulation is possible. If the indigenous variety do not have the metabolic capability to perform the remediation process, exogenous varieties with such sophisticated pathways are introduced. It is commonly used in municipal wastewater treatment to restart activated sludge bioreactors. Most cultures available contain a research based consortium of microbial cultures, containing all necessary microorganisms (B. licheniformis, B. thurengensis, B. sterothemophilus, Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Flavobacterium, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, Saccaromyces, Triphoderma, etc.). Whereas activated sludge systems are generally based on microorganisms like bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, rotifers and fungi capable to degrade bio degradable organic matter.Usually all essential microorganisms are found in their sites where soil and groundwater are contaminated with chlorinated ethenes, such as in tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene. Niu et al. (2009) proved that the in-situ microorganisms can totally remove and alter these contaminants to ethylene and chloride, which are non-toxic. Thus 44 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 bioaugmentation is the process of adding engineered microbes in a system which act as abioremediators in order to quickly and totally eliminate complex pollutants. This is further established by different group of scientists like Malik et al. (2012), Alwan et al. (2013), and Gomez et al. (2014).Natural species are not fast enough to break down certain compounds so to facilitate, must be genetically modified through DNA manipulation; genetically engineered microbes act as break down pollutants much faster than the natural species and highly compete with the indigenous species, predators and also various abiotic factors. Sayler and Ripp (2000) documented that genetically engineered microorganisms have shown potential for bioremediation of soil, groundwater and activated sludge, exhibiting the enhanced degrading capabilities of a broad coverage of chemical and physical pollutants.

Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (GEMs)

Genetically engineered microorganism is a microorganism whose genetic material has been already changed by applying genetic engineering techniques inspired by natural otherwise artificial genetic exchange between microorganisms. Thiskind of artistic work and a scientific procedure is mainly termed as recombinant DNA technology. Jain et al. (2011) mentioned in their publication that genetic engineering has improved the utilization and elimination of hazardous unwanted wastes under laboratory conditions by creating genetically modified organisms Recombinant living organisms can be obtained by recombinant DNA techniques or by natural genetic material exchange between organisms. Genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) have shown potential for bioremediation applications in soil, groundwater, and activated sludge environments, exhibiting enhanced degradable capabilities encompassing a wide range of chemical contaminants. For example, rate- limiting steps in known metabolic pathways can be genetically manipulated to yield increased degradation rates, or completely new metabolic pathways can be incorporated into bacterial strains for the degradation of previously recalcitrant compounds. In GEMs four activities / strategies to be done these are: i) modification of enzyme specificity and affinity, ii) pathway construction and regulation, iii) bioprocess development, monitoring, and control, iv) bio sensor applications for chemical sensing, toxicity reduction, and end point analysis. Essential genes of bacteria are carried on a single chromosome but genes specifying enzymes required for the catabolism of some of these unusual substrates may be carried on plasmids. Plasmids have been implicated in the catabolism. Therefore, GEMs can be used effectively for biodegradation purpose and leads to represent/ indicate a research frontier with broad implications in the future time.

Conclusion

Biodegradation is very fruitful and attractive option to remediating, cleaning, managing and recovering technique for solving polluted environment through microbial activity. The speed of unwanted waste substances degradation is determined in competition with in biological agents, inadequate supply with essential nutrient, uncomfortable external abiotic conditions (aeration, moisture, pH, temperature), and low bioavailability of the pollutant. Due to this factors, biodegradation in natural condition is not more successful leads to be less favourable. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and activity. Bioremediation has been used in different sites globally within varying degrees of success. Mainly, the advantages are greater than that of disadvantages which is evident by the number of sites that choose to use this technology and its increasing popularity through time. Generally, different species are explored from different sites and they are effective in control mechanism.

45 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 References

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Cases I, de Lorenzo V. (2005): International microbiology 8: 213-222

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Demnerova K, Mackova M, Spevakova, V, Beranova K, Kochankova L, et al. (2005): International Microbiology 8: 205-211

El Fantroussi S, Agathos SN (2005): Current Opinion in Microbiology 8: 268-275

Gomez, Sartaj M. (2014): IntBiodeterior Biodegradation 89: 103–109

Hassan M. M., Alam M. Z., Anwar M. N. (2013): Int Res J Biological Sci 2: 27-31

Infante J.C., De Arco R.D., Angulo M.E. (2014): Revista MVZ Córdoba 19: 4141-4149

JainP.K., BajpaiV. (2012): International Journal of Environmental Sciences 3: 535-549.

Jain P.K., Gupta V.K., Bajpai V., Lowry M., Jaroli D.P. (2011): “GMO’s: Perspective of Bioremediation”, in: Recent Advances in Environmental Biotechnology, Jain PK, Gupta V.K. and Bajpai V. (Eds.). LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG and Co. KG, Germany :6-23

Jaysankar D., Ramaiah N., Vardanyan L. (2008): Marine Biotechnology 10: 471-477

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Li C.H., Wong Y.S., Tam N.F. (2010): Bio resource Technology 101: 8083-8092 46 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

Lin C., Gan L., Chen Z.L. (2010): J Hazard Mater 182: 771-777

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Niu G.L., Zhang J.J., Zhao S., Liu H., Boon N. (2009): Environmental Pollution 57: 763-771

Phulia V., Jamwal A., Saxena N., Chadha N.K., Muralidhar, et al. (2013): Technologies in Aquatic Bioremediation: 65-91

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On Generalized Graph Continuous Multifunction

Piyali Mallick*

Abstract

In this paper we introduce a new notion of generalized graph continuous multifunctions. Some characterizations and properties of such functions are obtained.

Keywords graph quasi-continuity, quasi-continuity, -continuity, graph -continuity

Introduction and Basic Notations

In recent years many different types of continuity notions were introduced e.g., upper (lower) semi continuity (Levin 1963), upper (lower) quasi-continuity (Neubrunn 1982), graph quasi-continuity (Mikucka 2004), Among of them quasi-continuity has been studied most intensively. T. Neubrunn (1988-89) gave a comprehensive information concerning quasi-continuity. There is close relation between the quasi-continuity and graph quasi-continuity. M. Matejdes (2004) introduced the notion of - graph quasi-continuous multifunction. In this paper we are interested in the existence of generalised graph continuous multifunctions and its relation with generalized continuous multifunction.

In what follows X,Y are topological spaces is a non-empty family of non-empty subsets of X . Here  is the space of real numbers with the usual topology. ,,   stand for the sets of natural numbers, integers and rational numbers respectively and  denotes the empty set.

A multifunction is a function from X to P(Y) where P(Y) is the power set of Y. We use capital letters F,G,H etc. to denote multifunctions. For a multifunction F:XP(Y)\{ } we simply write F:XY. A single-valued function f : X Ycan be considered as a multifunction as x|{f(x)}, xX. For a multifunction F : XY

*Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Bethune College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Email: [email protected] Received: 6 June 2017 / Accepted: 11September 2017

48 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 and for A  Y , we write F+(A) = {x X : F(x)  A}, F-(A)={x  X :F (x)  A= }. For a single-valued function f : X Yand for AA Y , f +(A)=f -(A)=f -1(A)={x X : f(x)  A} .

A multifunction is called upper (lower) semi continuous at a point if for each open subset of such that there exists an open neighbourhood of in such that It is called upper (lower) semi continuous on X if it is so at every point of X. (Kupka 2002)

A multifunction is called upper (lower) quasi-continuous at a point if for each open neighbourhood of in and each open set in with there exists a non-empty open set such that It is said to be upper (lower) quasi-continuous in X if it is so at every point of X. (Neubrunn 1982)

A multifunction is called upper (lower) -continuous at a point if for each open neighbourhood of in and each open set in with there exists with such that . It is called upper (lower) -X continuous on if it is so at every point of X. (Matejdes 1987)

Let . In the case we have the upper (lower) graph -continuity as the usual notion of upper (lower) quasi-continuity.

A multifunction is called upper (lower) graph -continuous at a point if for each open neighbourhood of in and each open set in with there exists with such that for every . It is called upper (lower) graph -continuous on X if it is so at every point of X. In the case =0 , we call the upper (lower) graph - continuity as the upper (lower) graph quasi-continuity.

Examples:

Example 2.1: Consider the real line . Let be defined by

 [0,1] if x>0  F(x)= [-2,-1]U[0,1] if x=0   [-1,0] if x<0

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Then is upper graph quasi continuous on but not lower. Here F fails to be lower graph quasi continuous 1 1  1 1   3 5  only at x=0 for the open neighbourhood U   ,  of 0 in and the open set W  ,,       2 2  2 2   2 2  in × , there is no non empty open set EU such that ({e } F ( e ))  W   for every e E .

Remark 2.1: In this example is upper quasi continuous on but not lower( F fails to be lower quasi continuous only at x=0).

Example 2.2:Consider the real line . Let be defined by

 if x  0  F( x ) if x  0   if x  0

 1 1 1 1  Let , and W n1 (,)(,) x  x   n  n   n n 2 2 

Then

Let By the Archimedian property of , such that . Then . 1 1 1 1 So (,)(,)(,)y m x  x   m  m  m m 2 2

1 1 1 1 Similarly if 0y  x ,  m   such that and then (,')(y m x  , x  )(',')  m  m  m' m ' 2 2

Thus, there is no non-empty open set such that for all .

Here is not upper graph quasi continuous at

Let be an open neighbourhood of and

 1 1 1 1   1 1 1  Wn1 (,)(,)(,)(,)   n  n         n n 2 2   2 2 2 

Let Then such that .

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1 1 1 1 So (,)(,)(,)y m   m  m  m m 2 2

Let Then such that .

1 1 1 1 So (,')(y m  ,)('  m  ,' m  ) . m' m ' 2 2

Hence is not upper graph quasi continuous at

Let , where

and

 1 1 1 1   1 1  Then corresponding to Wn1 ( x  , x  )(  y n  , y n  )(    x  , x  )(,0    there is no n n 2 2   2 2  non empty open set such that for all .

Consequently is not upper graph quasi continuous at every point of

Let be an open neighbourhood of and be open in such that .

Let where Then there are open sets in such that

Let . Then .

Thus for all . So is lower graph quasi continuous at x.

Let , be an open neighbourhood of 0 and be open in such that .

Let when Then there are open sets in such that

Let . Then and

Then for all . So is lower graph quasi continuous at x = 0.

Similarly, it can be shown that F is lower graph quasi continuous at x < 0.

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Thus is lower graph quasi continuous on  .

Example 2.3: Let be given by

Here is upper semi continuous on but fails to be upper graph quasi continuous at every point of

Remark 2.2: In this example F is both upper and lower quasi continuous on  .

The Main Results:

Theorem 3.1:A multifunction is upper continuous if it is upper graph continuous.

Proof: Let be upper graph continuous on . Let be an open neighbourhood of in X and V be open in Y with F(x)  V..

Then is open in with .

Thus, there is with such that for all .

Then for all . Hence is upper continuous at .

Remark 3.1:The converse of the Theorem 3.1 is not true in general. In example 2.3 is upper quasi continuous but not upper graph quasi continuous on .

Theorem 3.2:A compact valued upper continuous multifunction is upper graph graph continuous.

Proof: : Let be a compact valued upper continuous multifunction and .

Let be open neighbourhood of and be open in with .

Now for each , is an open neighbourhood of f(x,y).

Then for each , there are open sets in , in such that .

Here is compact and is an open cover of F(x) .

So, there are finite number of points such that (say).

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Set . Then is open neighbourhood of , is open in with .

Since is upper continuous at there is with such that for all . Then and . Thus F is upper graph   continuous at x.

Remark 3.2: In example 2.1 is upper quasi continuous but not upper semi continuous on ( F fails to be upper semi continuous only at x=0.

Theorem 3.3 : is lower continuous if and only if it is lower graph   continuous.

Proof: : Let be lower graph continuous on

Let be an open neighbourhood of in and be open in with F() x V   .

Then is open in with ({x } F ( x ))  W   .

Thus, there is with such that ({e } F ( e ))  W   for all .

Then F() e V   for all . Hence is lower continuous at .

Conversely, suppose that is lower continuous on .

Let be an open neighbourhood of in and be open in with ({x } F ( x ))  W   .

Choose such that . So there are open sets in , in such that and F() x V   .

Thus, there is with such that F() e V   for all .

Then and also ({e } F ( e ))  W   for all .

Thus is lower graph continuous at .

References

Kupka, I. (2002): “A convergence preserving upper and lower semicontinuity of multifunctions”, Tatra Mountains Math. Pub 24: 7-10

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Levin, N. (1963): “Semi-open sets and semi-continuity in topological spaces”,Amer. Math. Monthly, 70: 36-41

Matejdes, M. (1987): “Sor les selecteurs des mutifonctions”, Math. Slovaca. 37:111-124

Matejdes, M. (2004): “Graph quasi-continuity of the functions”, Acta Mathematica. 7:29-32

Mikucka, A. (2004): “Graph quasi-continuity”, Demonstratio Math. 36:483-494

Neubrunn, T. (1982): “On quasi-continuity of multifunctions”, Math. Slovaca. 32:147-154

Neubrunn, T.(1988-89): “Topical Survey”, Real Anal. Exchange, 14: 259-305

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Normalized Numerical Range of Two Normal Operators

Gopal Das*

Abstract

In this paper, we study the normalized numerical range of two normal operators. We show that the normalized numerical range of two normal operators in two dimensional Hilbert spaces is a hyperbola contained in a unit disc.

Keywords

Numerical Range, Normal Operators

Introduction

Suppose A is a bounded linear operator on a complex, separable Hilbert space H. The numerical range of an operator A, denoted by W(A), is defined by

W(){,, A  Af f  f   f 1}, where denotes the inner product defined on . Clearly, , is the subset of complex numbers. The numerical range is also called field of values. The numerical radius of A is defined by w( A ) {   W ( A )},

Basic Properties of Numerical Range

We now state some basic properties of numerical range:

Theorem 2.1 Suppose A be a bounded operator on H. Then

1. W( A +  I) =  W(A) +  2. W(A*)=W(A)where denotes the adjoint operator of A. 3. W(U*AU)=W(A)for all unitary U. 4.  ()()AWA where  ()A denotes the spectrum of A.A.

*Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Krishnagar Government College, Nadia,

Email:[email protected]

Received: 5 August 2017 / Accepted: 14 October 2017 55 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

5. W( A ) D  { z  z  A }. 6. A is self-adjoint if and only if is real.

Theorem 2.2 (Toeplitz-Hausdorff Theorem) The numerical range of an operatoris convex.Toeplitz (1918) prove that the boundary WA() of a bounded operator A is convex and Hausdorff (1919) prove that W(A) is simply connected. Donoghue (1997) proves that if A is a two dimensional operator, then W(A) is ellipse whose foci are the eigen values of A. Gustafson (1970) proves Toeplitz-Hausdorff theorem for an unbounded operatorin H. Berberian (1964) proves that

W( A ) conv ( ( A )); where A is a normal operator and conv( ( A )) denote the convex hull of the spectrum of A. Menge (1957). proves that the extreme points of the closure of the numerical range W(A) of a normal operator A are eigenvalues of A if and only if W(A) is closed. Stampfli(1966) also proves above result in different approach.

The geometry of numerical range and and its boundary is an interesting topic in the study of numerical range. Rajabalipour et.al.(1975) prove that any subset D of  can be the numerical range of some bounded operator , if D - Int(D) = E0  E1 where E0 is countable and E1 is a union of smooth subarcs of a conic section. The geometry of numerical range and its boundary are studied by Stampfli (1966), Embry (1970),

Berberian (1964), Das (1977), Donoghue (1957), Garske (1979), Barra (1981).

Normalized Numerical Range of two operators

Suppose H be a complex, separable Hilbert space with inner product h; i and A be an operator on H. Auzinger (2003) introduces the notion of normalized numerical range of an operator on Hilbert space.

Definition 3.1

The normalized numerical range of an operator A, denoted by Wn(A) is the set

 Af, f  Wn ( A ) Af  0, f  H  . Af f 

z 1} Gevorgyan (2006, 2009) studies the set Wn(A). Clearly, Wn(A) lies in the unit disc D{ z 

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Af. f   and sup Af0, f  H   1. It is clear that Af f 

Af. f   infAf 0, f  H   cos A  total anti eigen value of A Af f 

Gevorgyan(2011)studies the normalized numerical range in two dimensional case. In the next section,we define normalized numerical range for two operators and study its structure for two dimensional normal matrices.

We first define normalized numerical range for two operators as follows:

Definition 3.2 Let A and B be two operators on H. The normalized numerical range for two operators A, B is the set

Af. Bf  Af  0, { Af Bf Bf  0, f H }

We denote the set for normalized numerical range for two operators A, B by Wn(A,B). Therefore,

Af. Bf  WAB(,){ n Af Bf Af0, Bf  0, f  H }

We now study the normalized numerical range for two normal operators A and B in two dimensional Hilbert space.

Theorem 3.3 The normalized numerical range of two normal operators on two dimensional Hilbert space is a hyperbola contained in a unit disc.

Proof:

1 0  Let A    0 2 

1 0  and B    0 2 

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i j i j t where j  j e and j  j e , j=1,2 and f = ( ,  ) ,  ,  ,   0.

Now

2 2 Af, Bf         1 1 2 2 Af Bf 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1   2   1    2 

 t     1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1t  2  1 t   2

 2 t  [0,  ). where 2 

Let ja j  ib j,  j  c j  id j , j  1,2. Now  Af,) Bf x iy  Af Bf

()()()()ac bdt  ac  bd  ibc  adt  bc  ad 1111 22 22 11 11 22 22 ...... (3.1) = 2 2 2 2 2 2 ()()()()a1 b 1 t  a 2  b 2 c 1  d 1 t  c 2  d 2

Now

x ()()a c b d t  a c  b d  1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 y()() b1 c 1 a 1 d 1 t  b 2 c 2  a 2 d 2

Eliminating t from (3.1) we get

2 (ac22 bd 22 )( bc 11  ad 11 )  ( ac 11  bd 11 )( bc 22  ad 22 )  2 2 ()()()a1  b 1 yac 2 2  bd 2 2  xbc 2 2  ad 2 2   2 2  ()()()a2 b 2 xbc 1 1  ad 1 1  yac 1 1  bd 1 1    2 2 ()()()c1 d 1 yac 2 2  bd 2 2  xbc 2 2  ad 2 2   2 2  ()()()c2 d 2 xbc 1 1  ad 1 1  yac 1 1  bd 1 1 

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Writing  j and  j in modulus -amplitude form, we get

 2   2  X2 Y 2  1 2 2 1  XY sin 2 (       )...... (3.2)      1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 

where X ycos(2   2 )  x sin(  2   2 ) and Y xsin(1   1 )  y cos(  1   1 ) : From the discriminant of the quadratic equation (3.2), it is clear that equation (3.2) represents a hyperbola which is contained in a unit disc. References Auzineger W. (2003): “Sectorial Operators and normalized numerical range”, Appl. Numer. Math., 45, 367-388

Barra G. de (1981): “The Boundary of the Numerical Range”, Glasgow Math. J., 22, 69-72

Berberian S.K. (1962): “Approximate proper vectors”, Proc. Amer Math. Soc., 113, 111-114

Berberian S.K. (1964): “The numerical range of a normal operator”, Duke Math. J., 31, 479-483

Das K.C. (1977): “Boundary of Numerical Range”, J. Math. Anal. Appl.,60, 779 - 780

Donoghue W.F. (1957): “On the Numerical Range of A Bounded Operator”, Michigan Math. J., 4, 261- 263

Embry M. (1970): “The Numerical Range of an Operator”, Pacific J. Math., 32, 647- 650

Garske G. (1979): “The Boundary of the Numerical Range of an Operator”, J. Math. Anal. Appl., 68, 605- 607

Gevorgyan L. (2006): “On some properties of normalized numerical range”, J. Cont. Math. Anal., 41(1), 14-21

Gevorgyan L. (2009): “Normalized Numerical Range of some operators”, Operators and Matrices, 3, 145- 153

Gevorgyan L. (2011): “The Normalized Numerical Range of 2 × 2 Matrices”, J. Cont.Math. Anal., 46(5), 243-251

Gustafson K.E. (1970): “The Toeplitz-Hausdorff theorem for Linear operators”, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc.,25, 203-204

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Hausdorff F. (1919): “Der Wertvorrateiner Bilinearform”, Math. Z., 3, 314-316

Menge C.H. (1957): “A condition that a Normal Operator has a closed Numerical Range”, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc.,8, 85-88

Radjabalipour M. and Radjavi H. (1975): “On the geometry of the Numerical Range”,Pacific J. Math., 61, 507-511

Stampfli J.G. (1966): “Extreme Points of the Numerical Range of a Hyponormal operator”, Michigan Math. J.,13, 87-89

Toeplitz O. (1918): “Das algebraischeAnalogonzueinemSatz von Fejer”, Math. Z.,2, 187-197

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Fishing crafts and gears used in Assam: A review

Chandan Sarkar*

Abstract

An assorted scope of fishing crafts, gears and strategies have been advanced throughout an extensive stretch of time by the anglers and fishermen of Assam to catch a wide range of fish species. An endeavour has been made to focus on certain indigenous strategies, which were compiled during the current work. The investigation of the fishing gears and their technique for activity in Assam state have uncovered that numerous kinds of fishing specialties and gears are stylish in business use which has a place with a few classifications. There are a wide number of fish catching gadgets and strategies worked in the streams, flood plain wetlands (Beels), and low lying water zones of Assam. Four types of fishing crafts are used in Assam viz. Banana raft, Bamboo raft, Dug-out canoe and Plank-built boat. Beside this, fourteen broad categories of fishing gears are found to be used by fishermen of Assam viz. Grappling and wounding gear, Stupefying devices, Lines, Traps, Aerial traps, Bag nets, Dragged gear, Seine nets, Drive-in nets, Lift nets, Falling gear, Gill and tangle nets, Unusual gear (including dewatering devices) and Harvesting pots. Traps are particular fishing gear which can be utilized for fishing in the area. These snares are of different shapes and sizes relying upon the zone of activity and the conduct of target fishes and are generally comprised of part bamboo splinters. The distinctive fish trapping and catching gadgets and strategies predominant in Assam are discussed in this article.

Keywords

Assam, bamboo, Beel, fishermen, fishing crafts, fishing gears, Line, Net, Trap Introduction

Use of crafts and gears in fishery industry is an outcome of practical experiences through a lifelong period. Usage of crafts and gears follows a unique pattern in every water bodies as well as every province. A definite pattern and distribution of aquaculture technology can be seen in the fresh water ecosystems based on ecology, topography and habitat of the available resources. The mother of all invention is ‘necessity’ which has been well reflected in preparation and use of fishing crafts and gears, invented by the fishermen. The socio-economic condition of the local fishermen community is also reflected by use of less costly materials which are available locally and provides maximum return (Manna et al. 2011). Assam is gifted by the nature with various

*Assistant Professor, P.G. Department of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College, Nadia, West Bengal Email: [email protected] Received: 5 September 2017 / Accepted: 4 November 2017

61 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 internationally important rivers like Brahmaputra, Manas, Barak and many large sized wetlands which are locally termed as ‘beel’ which constitutes major source of fish for the poor people of surrounding localities. Almost 25% fish production of Assam comes from beels in Assam. Assam is a predominantly fish producing as well as consuming state. Assam has a requirement of 2.26 lakh metric ton fish against a production of 2.06 lakh metric ton fish annually (2008-09). Thus there is a gap of around 20,000 metric ton fish which are imported from outside the state to fulfil the demand and supply (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). Mostly indigenous and diverse crafts and gears are used by the fishermen in the river Brahmaputra (Jhingran, 1991). The main objective of the article is to identify and classify some of the indigenous crafts and gears used by the fishermen of Assam state which are readily available, cost effective, feasible to use and easy to prepare.

Fishing crafts

Fishing crafts are defined as “a device which is used to operate mainly big nets in big rivers, lakes, reservoirs, sea etc., e.g. non-mechanised or mechanised boats, ships, trawlers etc.” (Gupta and Gupta 2014). Fishing crafts are required to negotiate through water body for proper use of fishing gears especially in deeper part of the water bodies. Generally following types of fishing crafts are used in different water bodies of Assam (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

1. Banana raft 2. Bamboo raft 3. Dug-out canoe 4. Plank-built boat Banana raft

Local name of Banana raft in Assam is Kolorbhel. It is mainly used by poor fishermen of Assam countryside because it is cheapest among all crafts and very easy to make. Banana plantation is very common and cultivated by many households of Assam in the countryside. Four to five mature banana tree trunks are kept together with two or three split bamboo strips (locally called as khila) transversely to construct the raft. For reduction of the resistance of water current, the apex of the raft remains pointed through cutting the lateral sides. The length of commonly used banana raft ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 meter whereas width of the raft remains 1 to 1.2 meter. The main advantage of the raft is that it never sinks in water. The disadvantage of the raft is that it is much heavy to push or pull through water which is done by bamboo poles. Other disadvantage of the raft is its life span. The life span of the raft is very short (just three to four weeks only). Banana rafts are mainly used in shallow and still water bodies for operation of gill net, cast net and line fishing (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

Bamboo raft

Local name of Bamboo raft in Assam is Bahorbhur. It is also used by poor fishermen of Assam, because of its cheap and easy-to-make nature. In this region of the country, bamboo is readily available. To make this craft, about 20 to 50 bamboo sticks (locally called Jati) are tightly kept together by jute/coir ropes keeping all stout ends of the bamboo trunk towards the distal end of the craft. Bamboo rafts are generally 10 to 12

62 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 meter long and 1.5 to 5 meter wide. Width of the raft mainly depends upon velocity of water current and number of bamboo used. Bamboo rafts are pushed by bamboo poles through water, main disadvantage of the raft being very heavy and difficult to push through upstream water. The life span of bamboo raft is 1 to 2 years,which is moderate. Bamboo rafts are commonly used in floodplain wetlands and sluggish rivers (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

Dug-out canoe

Local name of Dug-out Canoe in Assam is Donga. It is made from a single log of a tree. The length and width/ depth is limited within 3-4 meter and 0.5-0.6 meter, respectively. Occasionally palm trees are also used to make this craft. Long and straight logs as well as good crafting knowledge are required for construction of the canoe. As the size of the canoe is very small, only one or two fishermen can use this. This type of canoes is generally used to carry and set gill nets, fish traps and fishing lines in shallow floodplain wetlands. The canoe is leak proof as it is made from a single tree log and doesn’t have any type of joint. Now,a days it is rarely used because of high price of tree log and increasing labour cost (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

Plank-built boat

Local name of Plank-built boat is Nao in Assam.Plank-built boat is the most advanced craft used for fishing in Assam. The boats are spindle shaped and manufactured by some very good quality wood with iron nails. Timbers of urium (Bischofiajavanica), sam (Artocarpuschaplasha), shal(Shorearobusta) etc. are frequently used for manufacturing these boats. Paint of coal-tar is used to make the joints leak proof which increases its life span also. Shape and size of the boats are varying widely depending on the place of operation with the fishing type. Small sized boats are generally 4 to 6 meter long and 0.8 to 1.0 meter wide. These small boats are generally used in small floodplain lakes and tanks. On the opposite hand, large sized boats are used for operation of bagnets (local called sanglajal) and shore seines (local called moha/borjal). These type of boats are seen in large rivers like Brahmaputa, Manas, Barak etc., reservoirs and large floodplain wetlands like Deeporbeel, Sone beel etc. Length of big sized boats range between 7 to 8 meter and width is 1.2 to 1.8 meter. Roof of the boats are made by plastic sheet and bamboo. Generally fishing boats are manually propelled while machine operated boats (locally called mar nao, vutvuti) are frequently used for transportation of fish to market as well as transportation of common people across the river. Making of boats comprises a small scale industry managed by traditional artisans(Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

FISHING GEARS

Fishing gears are defined as “a device which is used to catch fish, e.g. various types of nets, traps, hook and line etc.” (Gupta and Gupta 2014). Generally following types of fishing gears are used in different water bodies of Assam (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

1. Grappling and wounding gear 2. Traps 3. Aerial traps

63 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 4. Lines 5. Stupefying devices 6. Bag nets 7. Dragged gear 8. Seine nets 9. Drive-in nets 10. Lift nets 11. Falling gear 12. Gill and tangle nets 13. Unusual gear (including dewatering devices) 14. Harvesting pots Grappling and wounding gear These are traditional gears used for hunting. It can be thrown, pushed or shot to immobilize and catch the fishes by squeezing, grappling, piercing or making wound. These are of following types (Bhattacharya et al. 2004): a) Spear b) Knife-sickle c) Arrows and similar missiles Spears are single pointed or multiple pointed devices made up of bamboo or metals. Various types of spears are used in Assam for fishing viz. Pointed bamboo or wooden spear (local name pokora), Pointed iron spear (local name ek-sholia), Eel catching pointed spear (local name kuchiahanasholi), Flattened iron spear (local name ballam), Curved iron spear (local name kati), three pronged or multiple pointed spear (local name tiara), Six pronged spear (locally called jongar), Multi-pronged bamboo spear (locally called kootch) etc. Knives are ,locally known as degar, are used for cutting the fishes while moving around shallow marginal water. Fishes are attracted by a source of light and cut across the body of fish with these sharp weapons. Two types of Arrows and similar missiles are used in Assam viz. Bow and Arrow and Bamboo cylinder and arrow. Bow and Arrow is a type of weapon which is locally called as dhanu-karh in Assam. These are commonly made up of bamboo strip with a small multiple prong attached with the arrow. These are mainly used by bodo and santhal tribal peoples of Assam to catch large sized fishes like cat fishes, carps, mahsheers etc.Bamboo cylinder and arrow is locally called chunga-karh in Assam and are used for catching smaller fishes in shallow streams (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004). Traps Traps are special devices used for fishing wherein fish enters wilfully yet can’t come out. There might be at least one chamber in these snares, which might be shut when the fish enters inside. Some others have a muddled passage gadget like a crevasse or a passage. Various sorts of traps likesmall versatile structures (shut on all sides aside from the passageway) to openareas of water body (blockaded with bamboo shafts/ chips) are found in Assam (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004). 64 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Table 1:Different trapping devices used for fishing in Assam (Pravin et al. 2011)

Trap type Local name Catch composition Major specifications Area of (cm) operation Cylindrical trap Sepa/Bhari/Tepa 150 x 37 Paddy field Mystusspp, Puntius spp, Botiaspp, Small prawns,Channa punctatus, Chanda spp

Faron 43 x 21 Paddy field Miscellaneous fishes 32 x 20 Shallow water Kaita bodies/wetlands Small prawns/ srimps,Masatacembalusspp, PuntiussppChannaspp, Anabasspp.

Ubhoti/Queen/Kuni, Paddy field, Mastacembalusspp, Mystusspp, 92 x 21 Channaspp,, Clariasspp. Tuni catchment area 210 x 88 /175 x 85/250 x AorichthyssppChitalaspp, Tortoise and Doo/Paori/ Juti 9 4 Rivers and Beels Channa spp. Dingora/ Mystussp, Wallagosp. Paddy field Heteropneustessp,Clariasspp, Bundhdingora 65 x 23 Puntiusspp, Channaspp, Anabasspp,

160 x 67 Beels and Rivers Large sized fish, Mystussp, Puntiusspp, Pots GhumaiKhowa Channaspp Khoka 49 x 16 Small streams and ChannasppClariassp, Mystusspp. and rivers Puntiusspp Hufa 76 x 10 Low lying areas Small murrels and gouramies 92 x 55 Pond outlets and Runga beels Miscellaneous fish Sohra/Baha 30 x 50 Ponds and low lying field eel Seppa/ Tepa/Sohara/ 22 / 250 x30 / 49 x 15 Rivers and Beels Prawns and small miscellaneous fishes Spindle trap Badu Betok 26 x 26 /50 x 37 Box trap Boldha/ Ghoni/Goni Rivers and Beels Catfish, Puntiusspp

Dori/ NagondaFaron 49 x 33 /29 x 21 Rivers and Beels Prawns, Puntiusspp Sepeti/Gui/ 38 x 35 /78 x 67 / 55 x34 /Rivers and Beels Miscellaneous fish, catfish TesungPurang/ 55 x 50 Haokuri

Darki/ Bosna/Diar/ 79 x 36 / 113 x65 /—/ 64 Rivers and Beels Prawn, Eel, catfish Sepa/ Dingori x23 / 88 x 62

Gonirakshaks/ 391 x 44 /314 x 30 Fyke net Gukutadingora Rivers and Beels Prawns, catfish 1250 (HR) Stow nets Bag jal Miscellaneous fish Barriers Depending on width of Banamara river Miscellaneous fish river fences, weirs etc. Rivers and Beels Channaspp. and Puntiusspp Aerial trap Dolonga (Verandah Depending on width of net) river Rivers and Beels Miscellaneous fish Plunge basket Polo/Juluki 70X60 Miscellaneous fish Chakjal 250X200 Rivers and Beels Rivers and Beels Miscellaneous fish Shelter trap Dolonga 230X100 Beels and derelict Miscellaneous fish Tack 200X72 water bodies Channaspp. Mystusspp and small Hukuma 225X150 Beels and rivers Miscellaneous prawns Chunga/Dhun 100X12/80X8 beels Mystusspp, Puntiusspp., Channaspp (Source:Pravin et al. 2011) 65 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Aerial traps

A few fishes have the propensity for leaping out of water when they face an impediment or threat. Such fishes are prompted to leap out of the water by setting certain obstacles and are trapped by extraordinary gadgets. These are called aerial traps. These are of two types viz. Mud trench (letidiya) and Verandah net (Dolonga). In case of mud trench, a water channel is hindered by building a mud channel of around 30-50 cm width. At the point when fishes experience the deterrent, they attempt to bounce over the obstruction and fall in the sloppy pit and are captured by hand. Channa spp.,Puntius spp. are normally trapped in this snare. Veranda net is developed by raising split-bamboo screens (bana) across water flows. The upper finish of the screen stays simply over the water level so that fishes can hop over it. Behind the screen, a bit of mesh is inexactly hung with the assistance of bamboo shafts in order to frame a U-molded hanging support. Channa spp. Puntius spp., Rasbora spp. and other fishes hop over and get caught in the hanging net (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

Line fishing

In this fishing technique fishes are enticed with genuine or counterfeit lure connected to a line in such a way that the fishes can’t escape from the line after it swallows the snare. This is normally done by putting the lure alongside canyons or snares toward the stopping point. The accompanying kinds of line fishing which are rehearsed in this locale are (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004): a) Line with gorges or hooks (Single or multiple) b) Hand line (e.g. Hat boroshee, pole and line) c) Set lines (e.g. set long line, potaboroshee) d) Drift line (e.g. Zori boroshee, nolboroshee) Stupefying devices

Generally two types of stupefying devices are used in Assam i.e. mechanical and chemical. These devices are used to stupefy or stun fishes from escape. Hammer or Haturi is a type of mechanical stupefying device used to stun fishes in shallow streams. Mahseer, Glyptothorax sp., snow trout, Garrra sp. are some example of fishes which can be caught through hammer. Beating with club or locally known lathi/tangon is also a popular mechanical stupefying method used in submerged paddy fields or hill areas where fishes come for spawning. Two types of chemical devices are used in Assam for fishing i.e. explosives and fish poison or chemicals. Explosives are locally known as boma diya and are thrown in to deep water bodies for killing all types of fishes. Fish poison or chemicals are locally called bish or bihdiya and are applied directly in to the water body to kill fishes. Some plants like Polygonumhydropiper, Albizzia odoratissima, Durantaplumieri are frequently used as poison (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004).

Bag nets

These are sack like nets, which are kept vertically open either with the assistance of a fixed edge or through the counter powers of buoys and sinkers fitted to the net mouth. The net is evenly reached out by the water

66 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 momentum. More modest sack nets, like scoop nets are travelled through water. The fishes entering the net are caught by separating the net. These are of following five types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004): a) Scoop baskets (e.g. paachi, khorahee, chalonee etc.) b) Bag-like net (e.g. Harharijal) c) Landing nets (Hat jal) d) Push nets e) Drag scoop gear (e.g. Jakoi) Dragged gear

These fishing gears are towed through water on or close to the base for a specific separation. The method of catching fishes is by sifting detached fishes with dynamic development of the stuff. Dragged gears are of following two types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004): a) Sweep net (moved sieves of netting e.g. Moi and dol jal) b) Runner net (Sanglajal) Seine nets These nets might be with or without bags. They ordinarily have long wings and towing ropes. A specific region of an untamed water body is encircled with this net. The net is then steadily pulled to a fixed point on the shore or on to a boat by pulling the ropes/net from both the finishes. Seine nets are of following three types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004): a) Double stick nets (e.g. Panti/hengajal) b) Shore seines (e.g. Moha/bor/moshorijal, chatijal) c) Boat seine (e.g. Pesi/berjal) Drive-in gear These fishing gears are utilized to startle/drive fishes from a specific region into another fishing gear (of any sort). These nets are typically used to expand the volume of catch from fixed/sluggish stuff like scoop nets. Such drive-in gear is normally made by tying bits of blocks, torn nets, and materials and so on to a long rope. This stuff is gotten by 2-3 people through the water towards the fixed stuff to upset the water. At the point when the fishes are crashed into the fixed stuff, it is pulled. These are of following two types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

a) Rope Scare Line (e.g. Gola, Serakasi, toluarochee) b) Assorted Drive-in Gear (e.g. Tik-tiki khedani) Lift nets

This strategy depends on the guideline of lifting lowered net from the water bed rapidly in order to get the fishes, which are moving over it. These are of following two types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

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a) Chinese dip net (Dhekijal, ghat jal) b) Hand lift net (Porongijal, jati, promanikjal) Falling gear

These types of fishing gear fall over the prey inside water from above. At the point when fishes are captured inside the stuff, they are either gotten by hand (for example jumping) or they enter inside minimal net pockets while attempting to get away. These are of following types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

a) Cover pots (e.g. Polo-for large fishes, Juluki-for small fishes) b) Conical falling net (e.g. Chakjal) c) Cast net (e.g. Khewali/ asrajal, anghtajal) Gill nets

This is a latent stuff where the mesh size changes according to the body profundity of the focused-on fish. The fishes either get gilled or trapped while attempting to go through the net. This is one of the most widely recognized stuff utilized in Assam. It works in all profundities going from shallow wetlands to profound streams. These are of two types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

a) Entangling net (e.g. Phansijal, bagharjal, kurrentjal) b) Gill net (e.g. Langi jal) Unusual fishing gear

There are two types of unusual gears which are used by fishermen of Assam in addition to conventional practices. These are as follows (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

a) Dewatering devices (e.g. seoni, lahoti) b) De-oxyfication ( community fishing or locally called dol baandhimaachhdhora) Harvesting pots

Fishing pots are a basic piece of fishing particularly for small-scale / artisanal fishers. Various indigenous fish reaping pots are utilized in Assam to keep caught fishes. These are of following types (Bhattacharjya et al. 2004):

a) Box-like Harvesting Pots (e.g. khaloi) b) Cylindrical Pot (e.g. jeeoni) Discussion

Studies on the fishing gears in the Assam state have received sufficient consideration. There are a wide number of conventional fishing gears and strategies utilized for reaping the fishery assets of the province of

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Assam. Traps are special as these are indigenously planned and manufactured by the customary anglers themselves, thinking about, the territory, area and conduct of the fishes. A large portion of the snares are comprised of bamboo strips and are broadly utilized all through the state in the streams, Beels and other wetland regions. They come in various shapes and estimates and are anything but difficult to create, and is nearly less expensive and proficient than other customary fishing gears. The conventional fishing cog wheels of Assam particularly trap fishing keeps on being one of the significant fishing techniques among the anglers disregarding the innovative turns of events and presentation of other fishing gears over the long haul. Be that as it may, factors, for example, dispersing of fish populace and decrease in common shallow water regions, helpless returns, and attitudinal changes of the anglers can prompt decrease in the utilization of fishing traps(Pravin et al. 2011). The development of the snares itself is a workmanship and stays with the customary fishers of the district. Engineered materials for the development of snares for expanding the strength is a choice, yet the current material is plentifully accessible locally and these are biodegradable and would not have any antagonistic impact on the climate. Folding snares can be worked as this would diminish the space on the boat extensively and the anglers will have the option to accept more snares on his boat (Remesan et al. 2007). Traps can be made as a specific fishing gear, if appropriate break gadgets are given in the snares to encourage the escapement or activities of adolescents(Pravin et al. 2011).

As observed from the study, it is obvious that Musharijal, Langi jal and Phansijal are the most commonly utilized gears in commercial fishing activities. The fishing with these stuff is restricted during first May to July fifteenth vide Assam Fishing Rule 1953 (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). Another sort of circling net is the “Berjal” or “Borjal” the plan subtleties of which are same as “Musharijal” aside from the work size (25- 30mm).These cog wheels are commonly worked in profound territories of the primary Beel. The seines utilized in the Beel fisheries of Assam show certain characteristics when contrasted with the ordinary shore seines of the East Coast (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). The main contrasts of these, is the nonattendance of a sack or hit at the mid length of the net from start to finish, while other is the presence of fringe pockets in a portion of the seines. The gill nets of the set sort are the chief fishing gear in the Beels of the area due to the numerous submerged impediments (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). In the Beel fisheries of Assam, the gill nets come close to seine in its significance. During the current overview it is seen that fishes are trapped in these nets by gilling or entrapping. Langijal are once in a while used to drag or enclose a zone. Be that as it may, such practices are simply the intend to unnerve and drive the fishes into the net. The primary contrast between “Langi jal” and “Phansijal” is in the strategy for activity and gear. The foot rope the “Langi jal” contacts the base during activity though the later doesn’t. The foot rope of “Phansijal”is without shinker. The current examination uncovers that “Khewalijal”, i.e., Cast net is utilized all during that time not at all like different cog wheels which indicated a particular occasional example. This stuff is commonly found in activity in the shallow profundity regions of the beel. The scooping cog wheels, for example, “Dharma jal” and “Dhekijal” are likewise utilized all during that time aside from turbulent climate. “Dhekijal” look like “Khorkajal” (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013) fit as a fiddle and activity and are generally utilized in flood season. “Dharma jal”, then again is utilized throughout the year.Contraptions for catching fish might be attempted to precede the creation of nets (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). In the Beel, various sorts of fish traps have been found in activity. They are found to have financial and energy related favourable circumstances over dynamic pursuit and catch strategy (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). Be that as it may, the utilization of roost traps has been censured on account of their low getting power (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013).The

69 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 current study has indicated that there is a checked occasional variety in the getting intensity of traps, which to a huge degree can be credited to the conduct of fish. As a rule, trap is a profoundly flexible stuff whose capable activity empowers a few dispersed regions to be worked out all the while. Fishing strategies in the Beels are diverse and some of them are interesting. Normal cog wheels, for example, projected nets, gill nets, dunk nets and traps are stylish. However, the state offers adequate extension to certain indigenous fishing gadgets like “Katal fishing” etc. (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). Among the all indigenous fishing gadgets “Katal fishing” is the one of a kind and guaranteed strategy for catching huge measured fishes. In lower Assam it is known as “Jeng fishing” this unique fishing gadget needs “Khewalijal”, “Ghurnijal”, “Katalmarajal” and “Berjal” and certain different cog wheels, for example, “Athuajal” and “Thelajal”. The catch arrangement incorporates fundamentally the significant carps (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). Similarly, Banas are fixed boundaries, raised over the channels to keep return of fishes from the Beel to waterway alongside subsiding waters. It is viewed as one of the significant fishing strategies where the Beel has an association with the waterway. It goes about as an obstacle for the financially significant assortments like Labeorohita, L.gonius, L. calbasu, Catla. catla, Cirrhinuscirrhosa and moving back or returns to the river (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013). The Pre-rainstorm, Post-monsoon and winter are the fundamental fishing seasons in the Beel and practically all pinion wheels are utilized in these seasons. In addition, in winter, Katals are gathered which yield a generous gets of the Beels (Chakravartty and Sharma, 2013).

Conclusion

The regions under study contains countless water bodies as streams and channels, flood plain wetlands which gives the anglers a lot of chance for fishing and it was seen that the anglers utilize a variety of indigenous fishing devices and strategies to catch fishes. The conventional information on making the various assortments of fishing contraptions from neighbourhood bamboos are given verbally or through showing to the age straightaway, in spite of the fact that the present more youthful age of the anglers network don’t appear to be intrigued to acquire the conventional information to convey forward such action. Fresher financial choices combined with decrease in water bodies are accepted to be the essential explanation behind this. Bamboos, overwhelmingly used for the creation of the contraptions are decreasing in numbers and furthermore become very costly affecting the entire movement of device readiness and their utilization. The irregular fishing and utilization of fine work seine net was discovered hurtful as they get every one of those fish fries alongside the enormous fishes, influencing the fish variety in the territory. Different techniques were discovered reasonable and climate cordial (Sharma et al. 2017). The present study will familiar everybody to conventional and modern fishing crafts and gears used in Assam which will help the traditional fishery industry as well as implementation of new policies with modern techniques.

Acknowledgements

The author expresses sincere gratitude to Head, Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College, Nadia for extending infrastructural facilities to complete the study.

References

70 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Bhattacharjya, B.K., Manna, R.K. and Choudhury, M. (2004):Fishing crafts and gears of North Eastern India, CIFRI Bulletin No. 142, pp. 1-67

Chakravartty, P. and Sharma, S. (2013): “Different types of fishing gears used by the fishermen in Nalbari district of Assam”, International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research, 2(3), 177-191

Gupta, S.K. and Gupta, P.C. (2014):General and applied Icthyology (Fish and Fisheries), S. Chand and Company Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, pp. 521

Jhingran, V.G. (1991):Fish and Fisheries of India, Hindustan Publishing Corporation, Delhi

Manna, R.K., Das, A.K., Krishna, R.D.S., Karthikeyan, M. and Singh, D.N. (2011):”Fishing crafts and gears in river Krishna”, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 10(3), 491-497

Pravin, P., Meenakumari, B., Baiju, M., Barman, J., Baruah, D. and Kakati, B. (2011):”Fish trapping devices and methods in Assam - A review”, Indian J. Fish., 58(2), 127-135

Remesan, M. P., Pravin, P. and Meenakumari, B. (2007):”Collapsiblefish traps developed for inland fishing”, ICAR News. 13(1),117-118

Sharma,B., Rout,J.and Swain, S.K., (2017): “Traditional fishing gadgets used by fishermen of Barak valley, Southern Assam, North East India”, Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies; 5(5), 1555-1560

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Some Threatened Animals Important to Biomedical Research

Hemen Biswas*

Abstract

For more than a hundred years, virtually every medical breakthrough in human health has been the direct result of research using animals. The use of animals in research is essential to the development of new and more effective methods for diagnosing and treating diseases that affect both humans and animals. Scientists use animals to learn more about health problems, and to assure the safety of new medical treatments. Medical researchers need to understand health problems before they can develop ways to treat them. Some diseases and health problems involve processes that can only be studied in living organisms. This paper tries to reveal why animals are necessary in biomedical research. Animals make good research subjects for a variety of reasons. Animals are biologically similar to humans. In fact, chimpanzees share more that 99% of DNA with humans and mice share more than 98% DNA with humans, therefore, animals are susceptible to many of the same health problems as humans. Animals have a shorter life cycle than humans and as a result, they can be studied throughout their whole life span or across several generations. In addition, scientists can easily control the environment around animals (diet, temperature, lighting), which would be difficult to do with humans. Poison dart frogs, Cone Snails, nine Bear species and non-Human primates are discussed in detail. Finally, an appeal is made to realize the real need for the public to comprehend the essential role played by animal-based research. Scientists at all levels must educate the public about the critical role of research animals and the safeguards that ensure their humane care and use. Protests by animal activists have already increased the outlay of animal research and have slowed research progress by ensnaring scientists and veterinarians in a veritable sea of regulatory red tape. Only an educated public can reverse these trends, provide tomorrow’s scientists and devote the funds necessary to promote the scientific progress that will improve human health into the 21st century.

Keywords human health, animals, diseases, biomedical research, safeguards, scientific progress

Introduction

Biomedical research has long relied on many species of plants, animals, and microbes—to understand normal human physiology and to understand and treat human disease. From the bacteria E. coli, one five hundredth

*Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, A. B. N. Seal College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal Email: [email protected] Received: 14 June 2017 / Accepted: 25 October 2017

72 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 the thickness of a human hair, to an 11-foot tall, 1300-pound male polar bear; from the fruit fly Drosophilia melanogaster, which has a life span of only days, to chimpanzees, which, like us, can live for decades, these and numerous other species have brought medicine into the modern era of antibiotics, antidepressants, cancer therapy, organ transplantation, and open-heart surgery. The table below shows major contributions of animals in biomedical process standardization

Local and general anesthetics Use of insulin for diabetes Polio, diphtheria, and whooping cough vaccines Medications for high blood pressure Heart and lung bypass machines for open heart surgery Blood transfusion Kidney dialysis Transplantation of corneas, heart valves, hearts, kidneys, and bone marrow Effective painkillers Anticoagulants Asthma medications Breast cancer treatments Development of cardiac pacemakers Leukemia treatments CAT scans Medications to treat depression Drugs and tests for HIV AIDS All medicine and vaccines used to treat animals by veterinarians And all other human medicines (which are tested first on animals for toxicity)

Poison dart frogs

The family of frogs called the Dendrobatidae contains more than 80 species from the genera Phyllobates, Dendrobates, Epipedobates, and Minyobates that live in lowland tropical rainforests of Central and South America. Although no frogs from this family are on the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, their ranges are often very limited, and because of disease and the rapidly expanding deforestation of rainforest

73 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 habitats, some species must be considered to be at risk. These frogs are generally called “Poison Arrow” or “Poison Dart” frogs, but this name for the group as a whole is somewhat misleading, as only three species from western Colombia of the genus Phyllobateshave been used by native Indians to poison arrows and blow gun darts. Many of the remaining species also contain toxic compounds, but at lower concentrations. Of great interest is the remarkable diversity of biologically active alkaloids found in the skin secretions of these frogs, including the highly toxic batrachotoxins, isolated from a Colombian Phyllobates species. These alkaloids selectively bind to voltage-dependent sodium channels at extremely low concentrations, locking the channels in the open position, thereby blocking nerve conduction and causing a sustained contraction in muscles. Because of this highly potent and selective binding ability, batrachotoxins have become central research tools in uncovering the structure and function of sodium channels in nerves and muscles. Without batrachotoxins, many fundamental insights about sodium channels, such as understanding their interactions with other toxins, and with drugs having local anesthetic, anti-arrhythmic, and anti-convulsant properties, would not have been possible. The origin of the alkaloid toxins isolated from these frogs was a mystery, as alkaloids are plant compounds. By raising the frogs in captivity, it was found that they did not produce the toxins themselves. It is now believed that the frogs feed on ants or other arthropods that contain the alkaloids, which in turn obtain the alkaloids from certain plants. Despite the potency of these compounds, they might never have been discovered were it not for the ability of the frogs to bioaccumulate them at higher concentrations than are found elsewhere in the food chain. A search for alkaloid-containing arthropods may lead to the discovery of additional biologically active compounds of medical importance.

Cone Snails

Because they bind with such extreme selectivity to an enormous array of receptor sites, the toxins from cone snails have been widely used in biomedical research. For example, conotoxins have helped characterize some of the subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in mammalian heart muscle, which has led to a better understanding of the mechanisms that control heart rate and contractility. They have also been used to study these receptor subtypes in skeletal muscle and brain. Other toxins have been employed in the identification of calcium, potassium, and sodium ion channel subtypes, greatly advancing our knowledge of these fundamental molecular units. The enzyme gamma glutamyl-carboxylase, extracted from Cone snails (one of the only invertebrates that produce it), has been used to achieve a more complete understanding of the defective blood clotting cascade in patients with hemophilia B. Conotoxins have also been used in research as immunoassays, as they can bind to some circulating antibodies that cause paraneoplastic syndromes. These are autoimmune neurological disorders seen in some types of cancer, where antibodies formed to bind to ion channel and other receptor antigens in cancer cell membranes, attack normal neurons and cause them to malfunction. By detecting the antibodies, conotoxins can provide an early diagnostic test for the cancer.

Bears

Nine bear species are listed on the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, including the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), and the Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus). Bears are at risk primarily because of destruction of their habitat, but also because of over- hunting, driven in part by the high prices their body parts, believed to have medicinal value, bring in “black

74 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 markets” in parts of Asia. Bear gallbladders, for example, have been sold for the equivalent of eighteen times their weight in gold. The denning bear is the only mammal that fasts for 150 days while maintaining a normal body temperature (~97º F). Unlike some rodent species, bears do not actually hibernate, a state characterized by a lack of arousal and a markedly reduced metabolic rate. While denning, the bear is alert and reactive, even though it does not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate. In spite of these privations, the bear not only survives denning, but even grows. Female bears, in addition, can give birth to as many as five cubs during denning and nurse them. An understanding of the physiological wonders of denning bears has come largely from studies on North American black bears (Ursus americanus) over the past 25 years by Ralph Nelson and his colleagues. The bear accomplishes the seemingly impossible combination of fasting and growth by recycling virtually all of its body wastes. Calcium lost from bone is recycled back into bone. The urine that is continually formed is recycled back into the blood stream through absorption by the bladder, and the main urinary waste, urea, is recycled back into amino acids and protein. Free fatty acids are recycled back into fat tissue, controlling blood levels of ketones. Body fat supplies both energy and metabolic water. Because of these processes, the lean body mass of denning bears increases, while body fat is lost.

Osteoporosis

Despite inactivity and a lack of weight bearing, bears do not lose bone mass, that is, they do not develop osteoporosis, during the five months or more of denning. Loss of bone mass is a phenomenon that occurs in all other mammalian species, including humans, with decreased mechanical use of the skeleton. A bed-ridden human patient, for example, loses one fourth to one third of his or her bone mass during a five-month period. A research extract, isolated from the blood of denning bears by Nelson and his team, has been shown experimentally to significantly stimulate bone forming cells called osteoblasts and to inhibit osteoclasts, cells that dissolve bone. It has also restored normal bone formation in rats that had their ovaries removed and had developed osteoporosis as a result. Osteoporosis is a major public health problem, particularly among the inactive elderly and in paralyzed and bed-ridden patients, that has largely defied treatment. In the U.S. alone, osteoporosis afflicts more than 28 million people, a major proportion of which are post-menopausal women, causes more than 1.5 million bone fractures and 70,000 deaths each year, and costs the U.S. economy U.S. more than $13.8 billion annually. Insights derived from denning bears could lead to new treatments for this dreaded disease.

Renal Failure

Bears also do not urinate for a period lasting five months or more, but they are able to stay healthy, as they recycle urea to make new amino acids and proteins. Humans unable to excrete their urinary wastes die after several days. In human patients with chronic renal failure, lowering protein in their diets can help lower the production of urea in early stages, but in those who progress to end-stage renal disease; their only treatment is kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant. The Nelson team’s research extract has been shown to stimulate the recycling of urea under experimental conditions in a guinea pig, a mammal which neither hibernates nor dens. Normally, humans can recycle about 25% of the urea they produce each day, but if, like the denning bear, they could recycle essentially all of it, they could possibly avoid the toxic and lethal effects of renal failure, a condition that costs the U.S. economy an additional U.S. $10 billion each year.

75 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Polar Bears

One would think that a species living at the northern fringe of the earth would be safe from the threat of human over-exploitation and human-caused habitat destruction. However, this is not the case for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). In addition to over-hunting, and the loss of habitat (primarily the result of oil and gas exploration, and of development), polar bears face another threat. Increased temperatures from global warming (warming is greatest at the highest latitudes) have significantly thinned arctic ice, compromising the polar bear’s ability to hunt for seals, its primary food. Under normal conditions for the first few months of spring, polar bears consume large quantities of seal fat and little else. When summer arrives, they are obese, at which point they begin fasting for several months. Free-ranging wild polar bears are typically insulin-resistant throughout the year, the condition that characterizes Type II diabetes mellitus. In addition, despite prolonged fasting during denning, they show no evidence of essential fatty acid deficiency, presumably because they are able to mobilize them from storage in body fat in the precise amounts necessary for metabolic processes. An understanding of the complexities of glucose and fat metabolism, and of the regulation of insulin in polar bears could lead to new insights about preventing and treating Type II diabetes mellitus, a disorder that is reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S. Similarly, uncovering the dynamics of essential fatty acid metabolism in polar bears could lead to a better understanding of a variety of human diseases associated with a deficiency or imbalance of these compounds, including chronic malnutrition, anorexia nervosa and atherosclerosis. Denning bears may also provide clues for the prevention and treatment of other human conditions, including severe anxiety, obesity, and Type I diabetes mellitus

Non-human primates

The use of non-human primates in basic and applied biomedical research has grown steadily in the last 100 years—in endocrinology, immunology, microbiology, toxicology, dermatology, ophthalmology, oncology, developmental biology, virology, drug metabolism, aging, and the neurosciences. For many diseases, there is no other medical model that can be used. At the same time, many primate species are endangered, including those species closest to us—gorillas and chimpanzees (the chimpanzee genome differs from that in humans by less than 1.5%). Many primates are threatened by loss of habitat secondary to deforestation and development; by infectious diseases, some caught from encroaching human populations; and by hunting, particularly for the “bushmeat trade.” Virology HIV/AIDS and hepatitis are among a number of human viral diseases that have been studied using primates. HIV/AIDS Several Asian macaque monkey species develop an AIDS-like disease following exposure to simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV), a family of viruses that share DNA sequences with human immunodeficiency viruses. The similarity of the clinical presentation between Asian macaque AIDS and HIV/AIDS has led to their being used in vaccine development, and in understanding HIV/AIDS in humans, including such issues as maternal-fetal transmission. The chimpanzee is the only nonhuman species known to be susceptible to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-1. They have been used to determine the safety and efficacy of HIV/AIDS vaccines and medications. There is growing evidence that the original source of the HIV-1 infection was a chimpanzee subspecies Pan troglodytestroglodytes, and that humans were infected by exposure to the blood of this animal on multiple occasions. Similarly, the source of the HIV-2 infection has been traced to the sooty mangabey (Cercocebusatys). According to the WHO, more than 60 million people have been infected with HIV since the pandemic began, and there have

76 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 been more than 21 million deaths. Destruction of habitat and the slaughter of chimpanzees by the “bushmeat” trade will lead to the loss of those species in the wild that can help us more fully understand the genesis and dynamics of this disease and find more effective preventive measures and treatments.

Hepatitis Although the occurrence of jaundice was reported as early as the eighth century, it was not until after World War II that the viral cause of hepatitis was established. Two forms of the disease - hepatitis A and B were recognized at that time. Today, at least five viruses that cause hepatitis in man have been identified: A and E are transmitted by the fecal-oral route and generally cause only acute, self-limited infections; while hepatitis B, C, and D viruses are transmitted by blood and other body fluids, with the possibility of persistence and the development of liver cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Together, the hepatitis viruses represent a global health problem associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality. At present, some monkey and ape species are the only available animal models for the propagation of these viruses as well as for studies of their biology and pathogenesis. They have been indispensable in the development of vaccines and are being used to understand why hepatitis E viral infections can cause a fulminant hepatitis in some pregnant women in some developing countries, and high levels of mortality. Hemolytic Disease in Newborn The discovery of the Rh blood group factor in humans was made using red blood cells (RBCs) from rhesus monkeys. From this discovery and other related work, it became widely known that blood group incompatibility between mother and fetus could lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) and fetal death. HDN, also known as “erythroblastosis fetalis”, occurs when a woman becomes immunized to antigens carried by fetal RBCs. These antibodies cross the placenta, coat fetal RBCs, and cause their destruction. To prevent anemia and survive, the fetus must generate new RBCs rapidly enough to replace those being destroyed. HDN has been demonstrated to occur spontaneously in monkeys and apes (e.g., marmosets, baboons, chimpanzees, and orangutans) which have been employed to better understand the condition in humans.

Reproductive Cycles It was in studying the rhesus monkey and other Old-World Monkeys (Catarrhini) which have similar hormone patterns that the human reproductive cycle began to be understood. Research is continuing to provide insights into fertility control and early pregnancy loss. Conclusion Surveys have shown that although most of the public support the appropriate use of animals to study mammalian biology and human diseases, the level of knowledge is inadequate to defend against the well-funded, well- organized campaigns being waged against animal experimentation. Anti-animal activists now show off children in the public and private schools. The information they present as fact is often unsubstantiated propaganda and falsehoods. At the same time, the urbanization has led to a larger proportion of the populace with little contact with animals used for food and fiber. Today’s urban societies are frequently exposed only to pet animals having “near family” status. Because a reversal in these trends is unlikely, the use of animals could be threatened by a caring but uneducated public.

77 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 But for research to have a secure future, it is important for the public to comprehend the essential role played by animal-based research. Scientists at all levels must educate the public about the vital role of research animals and the safeguards that ensure their humane care and use. Inroads by animal activists have already increased the costs of animal research and have slowed research progress by ensnaring scientists and veterinarians in a veritable sea of regulatory red tape. Only an educated public can reverse these trends, provide tomorrow’s scientists, and devote the funds necessary to promote the scientific progress that will improve human health into the 21st century.

References

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Cork L.C. Clarkson, T.B. Jacoby, R.O. Gaertner D.J. Leary S.L. Linn, J.M.Pakes, S.P Ringler DH Strandberg JD Swindle M.M. (1997): “The Costs of Animal Research: Origins and Options”, Science, 276: 758 – 759

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Jacoby R.O., Lindsey J.R. (1998): “Risks of infection among laboratory rats and mice at major biomedical research institutions”, ILAR J, 39: 266 - 271

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Weigler B.J., Thulin J.D., Vandewoude S., Wolfle T.L. (1997): “The supply and demand for laboratory animal veterinarians from 1980 to 2005”, Contemp Top Lab Anim Sci, 36: 39 - 46

78 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

A REVIEW ON FOOD AND FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF FISHES

Riya Pal*and Chandan Sarkar**

Abstract

Food is very important for organisms to maintain their physiological functions. It is also same with the fishes. Fishes are true aquatic organisms. They provide huge economic opportunities. Feeding behaviour is the most important biological factor. Food and feeding behaviour of fishes have to be known for planning modern fish farming systems. There are carnivorous, herbivorous, omnivorous and plankton feeder fishes. Various fishes occupy different ecological niches of a pond that reduces competition among them. Availability of preferred food items depends upon the seasons throughout the year. Degree of feeding, known as feeding intensity, is dependent on some ecological factors like temperature, water salinity and dissolved oxygen of water etc. Feeding intensity is decreases during spawning period due to presence of mature sized gonad and it increases during non-spawning period.

Keywords fish, feeding behaviour, food, season, feeding intensity

Introduction Food is the main source of energy for organisms that regulates all the physiological functions to maintain their life cycles and it is also true with the fishes. Food has an important rolein determining the population, growth rate and condition of fishes. The complex behaviour associated with the food intake is known as feeding behaviour. Fishes have wide variety of feeding behaviours. Moffet and Hunt (1943), Khan (1947), Karim and Hossain (1972), Dewan and Saha (1979), Jhingran (1983), Bhuiyan and Islam (1990) and others have studied on food and feeding behaviour of different fishes. A wide range of food material is taken by fishes and their nourishment is obtained from plants as well as animals. A large number of fishes are omnivorous and a few are dependent solely on zooplankton and phytoplankton (Khanna 2005). Feeding behaviour is largely dependent on seasonal changes as seasons have huge role on the type and amount of accessible food (Akpan and Isangedhi, 2005). Gut content analysis of fishes helps to gather sufficient information about their food and

* P.G. student, P.G. Department of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College, Nadia, West Bengal **(Corresponding author) Assistant Professor, P.G. Department of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College, Nadia, West Bengal

Email: [email protected]

Received: 10 September 2017 / Accepted: 2 November 2017

79 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 feeding habits in natural habitat (Manon and Hossain, 2011). The food of fry and fingerlings are different from that of adults. Fry and fingerlings with small and short intestine usually prefer zooplankton, consisting of microscopic animals, rotifers, cladocera, protozoans and crustacean larvae rather than phytoplankton. Successful fish farming is possible only when culturable species of fishes are selected properly and food and feeding behaviour of fish, an important biological factor, provide keys for sorting the proper fish group (Manon and Hossain 2011). For this, a thorough knowledge on food and feeding behaviour of fishes is required that helps to eradicate the competition among the fishes so that fishes live in group and all the potential food are properly used to produce an optimum yield (Dewan and Saha,1979). So, the present study reviews the food and feeding behaviour of fishes. Different types of food taken by fishes, seasonal variations of food, classification of fishes according to their feeding behaviours, feeding intensity are discussed to review the topic.

Review of literature Food of Fishes There are wide diversity of organisms of different sizes (microscopic and macroscopic) and taxonomy groups in natural habitats of fishes those are used as food by fishes (Olojo EAA et al. 2003). There are two kinds of stimuli to food: a) season, time and nature of last feeding, day time, intensity of light, temperature and any internal rhythms affect internal motivation for feeding; b) senses such as smell, taste, sight and the lateral line system releasing and controlling the momentary feeding act are another kind of stimuli to food (Manon and Hossain,2011).

In step with Jhingran (1983), the natural foods of fishes have three varieties viz. (i) Main food (ii) Occasional food and (iii) Emergency food. Main food is consumed by fish underneath favourable conditions. Fishes take occasional food in little quantities once offered. Emergency food is eaten when main food is absent and on which fishes are able to survive. Besides, there is incidental food that enters the gut by chance and rarely is found in the gut contents.

Classification of fresh water fishes of India according to feeding behaviour Examples of these fishes and their food compositions are shown in the table 1. Fresh water Fishes

Herbivorous Fishes Carnivorous Fishes Omnivorous Fishes PlanktonFeeder Fishes

Herbivorous fishes feed A mixed diet i.e. both plant High percentage (more Plankton feeders mainly on plant material and animal matter are eaten than 75%) of animals c o n s u m e consisting of unicellular by omnivorous fishes. Their such as crustaceans zooplankton and algae, filamentous algae food consists of algae, parts (copepod & Daphinds), phytoplankton. They and parts of higher of higher plants, insects (waterbugs, evolve an effective aquatic plants. About crustaceans bryozoans, beetles, dragon flies, filtering mechanism 75% or more plant sand, mud, rotifers, insects damsel flies), larvae, through gill rackets to materials and small etc. They may be herbi- molluscs, smaller fishes get the food. amount of animal omnivore (eat more plant and tadpoles are taken as matters are found in matter than animal) or foods by carnivorous their gut contents. carni-omnivore (eat more fishes. animal matter than plant). 80 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Classification of fresh water fishes according to their ecological niche:

Das and Moitra (1963) have classified them into surface feeders, column feeders, and bottom feeders.Catlacatla, Puntiusticto, Gudusiachapra, Hilsailishaetc are surface feeders. Some species, depending upon organisms of mid water, are called column feeders. These areLabeorohita, Tor tor, Wallagoattu, Puntiussophore. Oppositely Labeobata, Labeocalbasu, Channamarulius, Clariasbatrachus etc.are bottom feeders depending upon bottom organisms.

Table 1: Some freshwater fishes and their food compositions and feeding behaviours Family Species Food Compositions Feeding Behaviour Cyprinidae Labeorohita Unicellular and multicelluar Herbivorous algae, decaying higher plants, debris, detritus and mud. Labeocalbasu Pieces of algae, decaying Herbivorous higher plants, vegetable debris, detritus and mud Labeogonius Algae, microscopic plants, Herbivorous higher plant material, detritus and mud. Labeobata Algae, microscopic plants, Herbivorous higher plant material, detritus and mud. Ctenopharyngodonidella Aquatic vegetation, Herbivorous voraciously feeds on weeds Cirrhinusmrigala Algae, decaying plant and Omnivorous animal material, detritus, mud. Tor putitora Algae, decaying organic matter, Omnivorous insects, rotifers. Cyprinus carpio Algae, macrovegetation, insects, Omnivorous crustaceans and their larvae. Catlacatla Unicellular algae, microscopic Plankton feeder plants, rotifers, protozoans, insect larvae, crustaceans. Bariliusbendealisis, B. barna Algae, insects like may fly, caddis Omnivorous fly, diptera, nymphs of damsel fly Hypophthalmichthysmolitrix Unicellular algae, rotifers, Plankton feeder protozoans, decaying vegetation. Siluridae Wallagoattu Insects, fish fry and Carnivorous, fingerlings, frogs, tadpole, predatory small fishes. Bagridae Mystusseenghala Insects, fish fry and fingerlings, Carnivorous, frogs, tadpole, small fishes. predatory

81 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Anabantidae Anabas testudineus Insects, their larvae, Carnivorous mosquitoes, water flea (entomophagous) Notopteridae Notopteruschitala Insects, fish fry and fingerlings, frogs, tadpole, Carnivorous, small fishes. predatory Claridae Clariasbatrachus Insects, worms, crustaceans, Omnivorous fry, larvae, decaying organic matter

Seasonal variations of food

Both on fresh water and marine fishes, seasonal variations have huge role in the natural food that results seasonal growth. Among fresh water fishes, herbivorous get their wide nutrient supply during April, May and June and supply become less during winter. April, June, September and October are considered as good months for feeding and July, August and December are slack periods for carnivorous. Marked seasonal variations are not seen in omnivorous fishes because they get one kind of food or other throughout the year (Khanna, 2005).

Feeding Intensity

The degree of feeding is referred by feeding intensity and can be measured by testing the fullness of stomach. Gastrosomatic index (GaSI), a numerical value, helps to determine the feeding intensity by the formula: GaSI = (Weight of the stomach content / Weight of the fish) x 100 Variations are observed during seasonal changes in gastrosomatic index in both sexes of several fishes. During post-spawning period and breeding period the index is maximum and minimum respectively. Seasons, maturity of the fish, breeding period of that fish species, temperature, shoaling, migration, swimming, predation, and food density are the influencing factors of feeding intensity. Feeding intensity correlates with the presence of suitable food items in the environment. Feeding intensity of a fully growth fish increases and decreases during non-spawning period and spawning period respectively. Feeding activity is distinctly increased after breeding stage but during breeding period, stomach remains either empty or only ¼ th full due to maximum size of gonads. Besides, it has been reported that digestion of food, size of fish, inter-specific competition, some ecological factors such as Figure1: Monthly variation in feeding intensity of dissolved oxygen level, water salinity may have Mastacembelusarmatus (Alam et al. 2013) great influence on taking of food and rate of 82 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 growth in teleosts. Alam et al. 2013 has stated that monthly variation in feeding intensity has been ascertained in Mastacembelusarmatus [Figure 1]. The analysis reveals that relatively higher values of full and moderately full stomachs are found from August to March. Oppositely higher percentage of semi-full and semi-empty stomachs has been shown from April to July. There is no specific variation in the percentage of moderately full stomach. Empty stomachs are recorded from May to July. On the other hand, stomachs remain full throughout the year in smaller sized fishes, but that is variable in larger specimens. They also have reported that stomach of mature fish is full from March to August and become empty in the months of January and February. Stomach is empty in female M. armatus during May to July due to fully mature ovary. Seasonal feeding intensity has been also observed in Cyprinuscarpioby Manon and Hossain (2011).Similar findings have been discovered by Mustafa and Ahmed (1979) in Notopterusnotopterus, Hossain and Nargis (1987) in Anabas testudineus, Bhuiyan and Islam (1988) in Xenentodoncancila, Bhuiyanet al. (1992) in Aspidopariamorar. Conclusion Fishes are adapted to variety of food items due to presence of wide ecological factors in their living environment. Some are particularly insectivorous, crustacean feeders, mollusc feeders, larvivorous, piscivorous etc. In the fish farming system, feeding behaviours of fishes are one of the most important concerning subjects. Composite fish culture method has been developed on the basis of the principle that compatible fish species are not harmful for each other. Fishes having different feeding habits are chosen so that they can utilize all the available food supply in all ecological niches of the pond for maximum production. Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to Head, Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College, Nadia for extending infrastructural facilities to complete the work. References

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83 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Dewan, S. and Saha, S.N. (1979): “Food and feeding habits of Tilapia nilotica(L.) (Perciformes : Cichlidae). II. Diel and seasonal patterns of feeding”, Bangladesh J Zool, 7(2), 75-80

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Karim, M.A. and Hossain, A. (1972): “Studies on the biology of Mastacembeluspancalus(spiny eel) in artificial pond. Part –II. Sexual maturity and fecundity”, Bangladesh J Biol and AgrilSci, 1(2), 15-18

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Manon, M.R. and Hossain, M.D. (2011): “Food and feeding habit of Cyprinus carpio var. specularis”, J Sci Found, 9(1&2),163-18

Moffet, J.W. and Hunt, B.P. (1943): “Winter breeding habits of blue gills, Leponismachrochirus(Refinesque), yellow perch, Percaflavescens(Mirchill) in cedar like westenow country, Michigan”,Trans Amer Fish Soc, 73, 2, 32-22

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Olojo, E.A.A., Olurin, K.B. andOsiikoya, O.J. (2003): “Food and feeding habit of Synodontisnigrita from the Osun River, SW Nigeria. NAGA”,World fish cent q, (26), 421-424

84 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Economic Aspects of Self-Help Group- Bank Linkage Programme in Nadia District: A Micro Level Study in three Development Blocks

Arindam Jana*

Abstract

Microfinance has become a very effective tool for fighting against poverty and inequality in India. Microfinance programme through Self Help Group- Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) is a very popular concept of development strategy. People belonging to low-income category have a variety of expectations from this programme. The present study intended to focus on the economic aspects of microfinance programme and the reasons of participating in the programme by the people in Nadia district of West Bengal.

Keywords

Microfinance, Self Help Group (SHG), Garrett Ranking Technique Introduction

Poverty is one of the most fundamental problem in India. After seven decade of independence a significant portion of its population still lie under poverty line. To get rid of this problem financial inclusion and empowerment of the poor households should be a necessary step. The initiation of microfinance programme may be treated as a landmark activity in this regard.

Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers and insurance to poor and low-income households and their micro enterprises. Micro finance has emerged as one of the most sustainable and effective tools for enabling the poor and disadvantaged section of the society to access institutional credit (Karmakar, 1999). It refers to the entire aspect of financial services such as savings, money transfers, insurance, production as well as investment credit and includes the need for improvement in skill and entrepreneurial development that would help them to overcome poverty. Micro finance programs have significant potential for contributing to economic and social empowerment to members of SHGs. Access to savings and credit can initiate or strengthen a series of interlinked and mutually reinforcing ‘virtuoso spirals’ of empowerment (Niranjana and Reddy, 2010).

The concepts of microfinance have existed long since 1904, when the Co-operative Societies Act was passed for ensuring production credit loans to the farmers through Primary Credit Societies. The formation of long-

* Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Krishnagar Government College, Krishnagar, Nadia E- mail: [email protected]

Received: 14September 2017 / Accepted: 16 October 2017

85 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 term co-operative credit institutions to meet investment credit needs of the farmers started in 1928.With the various priority sector targets under social banking in1967 and after bank nationalization in 1969, microfinance concepts in banking institutions once again came to the forefront. However, it is found that rural credit market was still dominated by the rural moneylenders and traders who offered loan at a high rate of interest even for consumptions purposes. The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the revamped programme named as Swarna Jayanti Grameen Swarozagar Yojana (SGSY) laid emphasis on investment credit needs only. The rural poor did not receive the subsidized and low interest credit rather the same were channeled to the better-off sections of the rural people. Further, poor monitoring and follow-up by the bankers resulted in poor repayment of loan (Karmakar, 2008).

Self Help Group (SHG) is the organizational unit of microfinance programme. A SHG, both by definition and in practice is a group of individual members who by free association, come together for a common collective purpose. In practice, SHGs comprise individual members known to each other, coming from the same village, community and even neighborhood. That is, they are homogeneous and have certain pre-group social binding factors (Satish, 2005). Non-governmental Organization (NGO), bank branch and government agency play a vital role in the formation of SHG. These organizations are called Self Help Promotional Institutions (SHPIs).

During the period April 2016 to March 2017, 18,98,120 new SHGs were financed by banks to a tune of Rs.38,781Cr. by way of loans. 401 banks (Commercial Banks – 40, Regional Rural Banks – 57, Cooperative Banks – 304) situated in 563 districts in the 30 states of the country are participating in the programme (NABARD, 2016-17).

Several studies revealed that SHG have proved itself as an effective tool for fighting against poverty. The present study aimed at evaluating some economic aspects of microfinance programme in Nadia district of West Bengal as well as finding the reasons to join SHG by its members.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the present study are as follows-

i. To identify and assess the socio-economic conditions of members of SHGs

ii. To study the structure and performance of SHGs

iii. To analyze the reasons for joining SHG

iv. To study the financial issues related to SHGs

Collection of Data

The study is based on both secondary and primary data. Secondary data was collected from 1) District Census Handbook- Nadia, 2011, published by Directorate of Census Operation, West Bengal, 2) District Statistical Handbook- Nadia ,2013, published by Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics, Deptt. of Statistics

86 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 &Programme Implementation, Govt. of West Bengal and 3) Status of Microfinance in India, 2016-17, published by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Further, primary data are collected by conducting field survey in two villages taken from two different blocks of Nadia District of West Bengal. The primary data are collected by canvassing specially designed questionnaire for the purpose of the study. The socio-economic impact of the study has been done on the basis of primary data collected.

A total of 108 SHG members and 26 SHGs have been chosen from two municipalities and two gram- panchayats (G.P) of Nadia districts. Table-1 shows the details of the sample design.

Table 1: Sample Design

Development Block Municipality/G.P. No. of sample No. of SHG No. of SHG member Krishnagar-I Bhatjangla G.P 6 22 Krishnagar Municipality 11 46 Santipur Santipur Municipality 5 22 Krishnaganj Bhimpur G.P 4 20

Methodology After the collection of the relevant data through personal interview types of cross-checking methods have been operated to verify the reliability of the data. Then the scrutiny i.e., necessary correction and adjustment have been to increase the credibility. Next, we represented the data collected from primary sources in some statistical tables. The tables have been formed on the subjects – family size, education of the SHG members, land holding size, family income, amount of savings, amount of loan taken, types of economic activity. Then the necessary calculations have been done as for example – the mean, percentage, the standard deviation etc.

To analyze the reasons for joining SHG the Garrett Ranking Technique has been used.

Profile of the study area

The district of Nadia is situated in the heart of the Bengal delta held within the arms of the river Ganga, comprising of the Bhagirathi on the west and the Padma on the east bordering Bangladesh. The district has been famous owing to a rich historical background and also for the presence of cottage and small-scale industries, particularly relating to hand woven textile.

The district has 4 Sub-divisions, viz. Krishnanagar Sadar, Ranaghat, Kalyani and Tehatta. There are 17 Community Development (C.D.) Blocks, 8 Municipalities and 2 Notified Areas in the district.

The three tier Panchayet System is operational in the district Nadia. As per the record of the Nadia district administration, there are 2637 Gram Sansads in the district forming 187 Gram Panchayets (GP). There are 17 Panchayet Samities functioning in the district. There are 21 Police Stations (P.S.) in the district.

87 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Table 2: Demographic and Microfinance profile of Nadia district of West Bengal Variable Number Total area 9327 Sq. Km. Total Population 51,67,600 Total SC population 15,46,917 Total ST population 1,40,700 Male literacy Rate 78.75% Female literacy Rate 70.98% Population Density 1,316 per Sq. Km. Total Households 12,29,925 No. of Sub- division 4 No. of Development Block 17 No. of Gram Panchayat 187 Source: 1) District Census Handbook- Nadia (2011), 2) District Statistical Handbook- Nadia (2013) Demographic Features of the Members of the Self-Help Groups Age of the SHG members Table 3 shows the age wise classification done into four different categories. From the table we find that the respondents mainly fall under the age group of 31-45 where the highest frequency occur i.e., 63 and in total sample size it constitutes to 58.33% followed by the age group of 21-30 and its frequency is 32 which constitute 29.63% in the total sample, followed by the age group of 46-60 which the frequency is 13 and its percentage of the total sample size is 12.04%. This indication would be relevant to the study because most of the earning members in a family would be in the age group of 31-45. Community wise classification of the respondents From the Table 4 it is understood that the respondents are mainly from the General community which is 77.22% of the total respondents. Table 3: Age-wise classification of the respondents Age Frequency Percentage Below 20 0 0 21- 30 32 29.63 31- 45 63 58.33 46- 60 13 12.04 61 & above 0 0 Source: Primary data 88 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

Following this next stands the SC community with 25 members and 23.15% of the total sample size. OBC community occupies 3.70% of the sample. Here ST community is only a meager amount in the sample i.e., 1 in numbers and 0.93% in total percentage. Table 4: Community-wise Classification of the respondents

Particulars Frequency Percentage General Class 78 77.22 SC 25 23.15 OBC 4 3.70 ST 1 0.93 Source: Primary data Family size

Distribution of family size of SHG members is represented in Table5. Table 5: Distribution of family size.

No. of family member No. of family Percentage 1 0 0 2 10 9.26 3 25 23.15 4 49 45.37 5 11 10.18 6 7 6.48 7 4 3.71 8 2 1.85 Source: Primary data From Table 5 it can be seen that 45.37% household have 4 family members, 23.15 % have 3 family member and 10.18% have 5 family members. A few households have small or large family.

89 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Education of the SHG members

We classified the education of the SHG members in six categories viz. Illiterate, Below Madhyamik, Madhyamik, Higher Secondary, Graduate, and Postgraduate. The distribution of SHG member’s education is represented in Table-6.

Table 6: Distribution of SHG member’s Education

Education No. of SHG member Percentage Illiterate 0 0 Below Madhyamik 45 41.67 Madhyamik 34 31.48 Higher Secondary 23 21.30 Graduate 6 5.55 Postgraduate 0 0 Source: Primary data From Table-6 it is seen that none is illiterate. Most of the members (41.67%) are literate but Below Madhyamik. 31.48% have passed Madhyamik, 21.30% have passed Higher Secondary and 5.55% are graduate. But no one have Post Graduate degree. Family Income of SHG members The distribution of the gross family income of the SHG members is represented in Table-7. Table 7: Distribution of Gross Family Income Family Income (Rs.) No. of household Percentage 0-1,500 2 1.85 1,501-3,000 33 30.56 3,001-5,000 30 27.78 5,001-8,000 31 28.70 8,001-16,000 11 10.19 16,001-35,000 1 0.92 Mean = Rs. 5136.57, S.D. = Rs. 6230.30; Source: Primary data From Table-7 it can be seen that 1.85% family belong to BPL (i.e., income<1500). However, most of the family falls in the range 1501-3000. 28.70% household have income between 5001 – 8000, 27.78% have

90 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 income between 3001 and 5000 and 10.19% have income between 8001 and 16,000. Only 0.92% has income between 16,000 and 35,000.

Assets of the families

Land: Land is the prime asset in our rural areas. All of the 93 households have some land. Land is of two types – agricultural land and non-agricultural land. The distribution of total land of the households is represented in Table-8.

Table 8: Distribution of total land

Area of land (decimal) No. of household Percentage Nil 19 17.59 Below 2.00 28 25.93 2.00- 5.00 46 42.59 5.01- 10.00 15 13.89 Above 10.00 0 0 Mean = 2.79 decimal, S.D. = 2.34 decimal;Source: Primary data From Table-8 it can be seen that as large as 17.595% of the households of the SHG members are landless. 42.59% of the households have land less than 2 decimal, 42.59% household have land between 2.01 decimal and 5 decimals, 13.89% have land between 5.01 decimal and 10 decimal and no one has land above 10 decimals.

House: There are three types of house viz. brick built, mud house (iron shaded/tail) and thatched hut. The distribution of house is as follows: -

Table 9: Distribution of types of house

Type of house No. of household Percentage Brick built 83 76.85 Mud house (iron shaded/ tail) 25 23.15 Thatched hut 0 0 Source: Primary data

91 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 From Table9 it is seen that 76.85% household have brick-built house, 23.15% have mud house (iron shaded/ tail) and none has thatched house.

Activities of Self-Help Groups and Impact on group members Savings: One of the basic principles of SHGs is that even the very poor may save small amounts, and that the additional incentives of getting bank loans at lower rates of interest, particularly among those who are otherwise ineligible for getting bank loans, would inculcate and strengthen the habit of saving. The members of SHGs save a fixed amount periodically, depending upon the convenience of the members of the SHG, and the savings of all the members is kept together in the bank in the name of the SHG and forms the SHG fund.

Table-10 shows the distribution of banks in which SHGs keep their savings. From this table it can be seen that 42.31% SHGs have savings A/C in Allahabad Bank, 30.77% have savings A/C in Bank of Boboda and 26.92% have savings A/C in State Bank of India. Table 10: Attachment with the bank Name of the bank No. of SHG Percentage Allahabad Bank 11 42.31 State Bank of India 7 26.92

Source: Primary data

Table 11 presents the distribution of monthly savings of SHG members. Most of the SHG members (35.18%) save mere Rs.20 per month. 13.89% SHG members save Rs.50 per month. 25.93 % save Rs.100, 16.67% save Rs.150 and 8.33% save Rs.200 per month. Average total savings is Rs.81.57 and Standard Deviation (S.D) is Rs.59.24. Table 11: Saving per month Per month saving (Rs.) No. of respondent Percentage 20 38 35.18 50 15 13.89 100 28 25.93 150 18 16.67 Mean = Rs.81.57, S.D. = Rs.59.24, Source: Primary data Table 12 shows the distribution of total savings of the SHG members.

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From Table 12 it can be seen that 4.30% SHG members have total savings of less than Rs.1,000, 23.15% members have total savings between Rs.1,001 and Rs.2,000, 44.44% members have total savings between Rs.2,001 and Rs.4,000 and 10.19% members have total savings between Rs.4,001 and Rs.8,000.

Table 12: Total Savings

Total saving (Rs.) No. of respondent Percentage Up to 1,000 24 22.22 1,001- 2,000 25 23.15 2,001- 4,000 48 44.44 4,001- 8,000 11 10.19 Mean = Rs.2402.78, S.D. = Rs.1571.53, Source: Primary data Internal loaning

The SHGs use their own funds for internal lending among their members and generally charge interest at the rate of 2-3 per cent per month of these lending. These rates are still lower than that charged by moneylenders. Apart from this, some SHGs (e.g. SHGs consisting of members only from SC/ST families, with all members from BPL families) also get subsidies from the government depending on their loan repayment pattern, and this additional amount of money due to the subsidies also get added to the SHG funds. The three Model types of bank linked SHGs get additional loans from commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), NGOs etc.

Table 13 shows the distribution of credit received by the SHG members. From Table-13 it can be seen that out of 108 members 28 members have taken loan for various purposes i.e. 80(74.07%) members have not taken loan. 18.52% have taken loan less than Rs.5,000, 3.70% have taken loan between Rs.5,001 and Rs.10,000, 2.78% have taken loan between Rs.10,001 and Rs.25,000 and 0.93% have taken loan between Rs.25,0001 and Rs.50,000. However, the mean and the SD are Rs.6071.43 and Rs.7659.86 respectively.

Table 13: Credit Received

Amount of credit received (Rs.) No. of respondent Percentage Nil 80 74.07 Up to 5,000 20 18.52 5,001- 10,000 4 3.70 10,001- 25,000 3 2.78 25,001- 50,000 1 0.93 Mean = Rs.6071.43, S.D. = Rs.7659.86, Source: Primary data

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Table 14: Purpose of loan

Purpose No. of respondent Percentage Investment in own business 9 32.15 Consumption purpose 6 21.42 Investment in other family member’s business 9 32.15 Any other purpose 4 14.28 Source: Primary data From Table 14 it can be seen that 28 SHG members taken loan. Among them 32.15% have taken for investment in own economic activity, 21.42% have taken for consumption purpose and 32.15% have taken for investment in other family member’s business and 14.28% have taken for other purpose. SHG members are engaged mainly in handloom.

Meeting

Frequency of Meetings

The main activity of the SHGs is conducting group meetings in a common place at fixed intervals. Group meeting is very essential for all groups. They have to discuss their savings, common problems, performances and so on in the meeting. In addition to this, the occasion is used to discuss their economic and social problems and other issues that need to be sorted out through intervention of the group or its members. Hence, the frequency of conducting meetings is considered an important factor for judging the performance of the SHGs.

The allotment of the sample SHGs on the basis of the regularity in conduct of meetings is given in Table 15.

Table 15: Frequency of meeting Frequency of meeting No. of SHG Percentage Weekly 17 65.38 Monthly 7 26.93 Irregular 2 7.69 Not at all 0 0 Source: Primary data Table 15 indicates that 2 (37.69%) SHGs do not have any specific interval regarding the holding of group meetings. 17 (65.38 %) conducted their meetings once in a week whereas 7 (26.93%) groups conducted their meetings once in a fortnight.

94 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Reasons for Joining Self-help Group

To analyze the reasons for joining the group by the member households, all the possible reasons were made known to the members of self-help groups. They were asked to rank the reasons in the order of their importance. The ranks given by them were quantified using the Garrett Ranking Technique (Garrett, 1969) using the following formula:

n Percent position = j1[(RN ij 0.5) / j ]  100 th th th where, Rij= Rank given for the i item by the j individual, and = Number of items ranked by the j individual. The percent position is converted into scores by referring to the table given by Garett and Woodworth (1969). Then for each factor the scores of the individual respondents were added together and divided by the total number of respondents for whom scores were added. These mean scores for all the factors were arranged in descending order and the most influencing factors were identified through the ranks assigned. For carrying out this analysis, the members of SHGs were asked to prioritize the specific reasons for joining the groups. The data were analyzed using Garrett ranking technique and the results have been presented in Table 16 and Table 17 respectively. Table 16: Rank of order of reasons for joining SHG by member

Reasons Rank Mean I II III IV Rank To get loan 27 25 38 22 2.51 To take up income generating activity 10 53 32 18 2.04 To mobilize savings 38 16 39 11 2.58 To reduce old debts 25 5 8 72 1.81 Source: Primary data Table 17: Rank of order of reasons for joining SHG by member

Reasons Score Rank Total Mean To get loan 5625 50.22 2 To take up income generating activity 5600 50.00 3 To mobilize savings 6275 56.03 1 To reduce old debts 3800 33.93 4 Source: Primary data

95 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 From the Table-16 and Table-17, it is clear that ‘To mobilize savings’ is the prime reason for respondents joining the SHG, followed by ‘To get loan’. The third reason was ‘To take up income generating activity’ and ‘To reduce old debt’ is the last reason for joining the SHG. Summary and Conclusion The major conclusions that emerge from our study can be succinctly outlined as follows. (1) Most of the SHG members belong to the age group 31 to 45.

(2) Most of SHG members have the family size of 4 members.

(3) Most of the SHG members educated but the level of education are below the Madhyamik.

(4) Most of the SHG members belong to low-income category having average level of income of Rs.5136. Not only this they possess a little amount of land.

(5) The principal reason to join the SHG by the women is to ‘mobilize savings. The other reasons in the order of diminishing importance are to ‘take loan’, to ‘take up income generating activity’ and to ‘reduce old debt’.

(6) Though the women joined the SHG mostly to save, yet the amount of savings being Rs.81 only per month. However, total savings of the SHG members has an average of Rs.2,402.

(7) Only 26% members have taken loan with an average of Rs.6,071. Among the members who took loan, only 32.15 % used their loan for investing in own business or economic activity. The main activity in which they invest their loan is handloom.

(8) Though the amount of financial transaction by the SHG members is not so significant, the SHGs as a whole perform a notable organizational activity. They not only keep their various records and accounts but also meet together on a regular basis.

References

Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics (2013): District Statistical Handbook - Nadia Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Govt. of West Bengal

Census of India (2011): District Census Handbook- Nadia. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal

Garrett, E. and Woodworth, R.S. (1969): Statistics in Psychology and Education, VakilsFeffer and Simons Private Limited, Mumbai

Karmakar. K. G. (1999): Rural Credit and Self-Help Groups, Sage Publication, New Delhi.

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Karmakar, K.G. (2011): “Microfinance Revisited”, In Karmakar, K.G. (eds.), Microfinance in India, SAGE Publications, 33-54

NABARD (2016-17): “Status of Microfinance in India”, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai

Satish, P. (2005): ‘Mainstreaming of Indian Microfinance’, Economic and Political Weekly, 40(17), 1731-1739

97 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Marriage: Perception and Experience of the Working Women of the Cooch Behar Town, West Bengal, India

Writuparna Chakraborty*

Abstract The institution of marriage particularly in India has a traditional hue. It reflects permanency and gives the institution of family a more solid foundation. But the social set up is not refrained from transformation temporally. Particularly in the urban context this change is so magnanimous and inevitable. With time, rigid values attached to marriages have got changed. The values attached to marriages have got moderated through time in the macro-meso-micro levels. Generally speaking, Indian women are keener to marry as per their own choice than preferring the traditional prevalent system of ‘negotiation-marriage’. Women particularly those with employment and economic autonomy are exposed to a freer environment which might help them to exercise more independence in life and living and particularly in mate selection. Education and economic autonomy are the two important indicators to assess the status of women particularly in the country like ours having an antecedence of patriarchy. Therefore, it becomes necessary to probe into the fact that how far women earners in the study area are able to articulate their voices in the matters like marriages. So, this effort tries to find out the perception and experiences of the working women of the Cooch Behar Town with regard to Marriage as an indicator to the level of social development and progress. Keywords Marriage, sacrament, working women, decision making Introduction The concept of ‘Marriage’ in the Indian society acts as a cementing factor complementing the basic social unit i.e., the Family. The institution of marriage according to the Indian culture is thought to be a permanent one traditionally, though time has given it a more flexible shape and it no longer remains as undeviating. Marriage may act as an indicator of social status and progress in any society. Keeping this in mind the researcher wanted to examine the perception of the working women of the study area regarding the institution of marriage through their experiences. The Insights Of the various roles that are played by man, the economic roles and the marital roles are most significant to him. The popular concept of marriage holds that it is a union between a man and a woman. It may be explained differently by different groups of people: The Anthropologists view it as the social sanction of the

* Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, A.B.N. Seal College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal Email: [email protected]

Received: 25 August 2017 / Accepted: 29 October 2017 98 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 union; the Sociologists think it to be a system of roles and primary relationships while some think it to be the Dharma (righteousness or the performance of duty). While explaining the concept of Marriage, Ahuja (2013: 118) opines that ‘Primary relation in marriage performs two important functions: one of need gratification and other of social control. It gratifies biological (sexual satisfaction), psychological (affection and sympathy) and economic (food, clothing and shelter) needs of the individuals and also acts as a primary source of morality and ethics. Why Marriages are considered as Sacrament? Traditionally, marriages are popularly considered as sacrament because of few reasons: a) Because it aimed at Dharma towards the fulfillment of the religious duties of an individual. b) Because it involved certain rituals and rites and considered to be religious in nature. c) Because the rites were being performed in front of the Agni, the sacred God of Fire of the Hindus symbolizing purity. d) Because the union between the man and the woman was considered as permanent and irrevocable throughout life and even beyond that. e) Because it was the only ritual that could be performed by women in her entire life unlike their spouses, is considered to be of utmost importance. f) Because marriage has been considered to be a ‘social duty’ rather than individual aspiration and interest. The change in the concept of Marriage: The traditional society has seen marriages undertaken to solve certain practical problems also apart from there being love and companionship between spouses: people wanted children for economic reasons; they wanted more women to work on fields, so they undertook marriage (polygamy in some cases). As of now, the traditional society having been transformed into modern, those practical reasons for marriage have been reduced in importance. Marriages are conceived as an escape from loneliness, rather going for ‘companionship’ or ‘comradeship’. That does not exclude the object of sex- gratification from its scope (Ibid: 120). The need gratification in today’s concept of marriage comes secondary to companionship. Thus, the basic premises of marriage are found to have changed: 1) Marriages are no longer thought to be a sacrament rather a companionship; the hierarchical relationship between the husband and wife are transforming into egalitarian ones and 2) Marital relations no longer remain irrevocable, divorce is sought as the last resort when marital obligations are not fulfilled. 3) Widow re-marriage has become sanctioned but it still remains as uncommon practice. 4) Freedom of mate selection has trickled in the contemporary society, but it does not destroy the stability of marriage. A new trend in the process of mate selection especially in the urban society among educated youths belonging to middle and upper economic classes has set in. The parents select the partners for their children, and they are permitted to meet before marriage in order to know each other. The process of interaction helps them to perceive about the personality, choice, tolerance, joviality, attitude towards family etc. and this helps them to

99 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 take decision for undergoing marriage with him/her. The more they interact, the more they become confident about their future married life. Thus, the concept of marriage has been found to get transformed through time. A woman’s role and status are integrally connected with marriage and family. Changes in the structure and organization of marriage and family will have a deep and lasting influence on the changing role and status of woman (Astige, 2006: 94). With the commencement of urbanization and modernity the livelihood of the women, their exposure and interaction to the outer world, their gainful employments have contributed to develop an entity of their own. Objectives The present inquiry has been undertaken to fulfill the following objectives: • To find out the marital status of the respondents • To find out the preference held by the respondents regarding the type of marriage • To find out the perception of the working women of CBT regarding the institution of Marriage Methods

The present inquiry has been carried out by following a stage wise investigation procedure like: a) Pre-field Stage; b) In-field Stage and c) Post-field Stage a) Pre-field Stage: • This stage is marked by the collection of the secondary data, documents, reports and other relevant information related to this search. • Preparation of the research schedule was done next. b) In-field Stage: • A meticulous survey was conducted by collecting information from door to door. • The nature of the investigation being sociological, involved thorough interactive sessions through Exploratory Surveys. • ‘Multi-stage Random Sampling Design’ have been incorporated for a better representation of the samples from the universe. The samples were selected by adopting Simple Random Sampling without Replacement (SRSWOR). c) Post-field Stage: • Tabulation of collected data and preparation of other tables for presentation of the data and calculations were done. • Data analysis followed as the next. Finally, report writing completed the post-field activity. Sample Size The female workers of the CBT area are only 5,567 representing 27.51% of the female urban working women of the district. The study was essentially conducted on the ‘Working Women’ of the CBT area 100 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 befitting with the subject matter of investigation wherein, a total of 1,777 working women have been interviewed representing 32% of the Universe by adopting Multi-stage Sampling Technique. Sample Design

While administering the Multi-stage Sampling Technique, the Female Population of the Koch Bihar District has been selected as the first stage of the sample. Then the Female Population of the CBT area was chosen. Out of this, the working women of the CBT area were taken up for the interview. This represents a Two-stage sampling design. The samples were finally selected by adopting Simple Random Sampling without Replacement (SRSWOR). Therefore, this may be referred to as ‘Multi-stage Random Sampling Design’ (Kothari, 2011: 66). Study Area

The study has been conducted in the Town area of Cooch Behar which is located at 26º 222 N and 89º 293 E and it encompasses an area of 8.29 square kilometers. The geographical location of the study area is conspicuous since it occupies a meander core of the Torsa River, one of the major rivers of the district of Koch Bihar. The Cooch Behar Town (CBT) area is comprised of 20 wards under the Cooch Behar Municipality (CBM). The total population of the urbanites of the CBT according to the 2011 Census is 77,935 persons representing 26.93% of the district’s urban population, of which 49.94% are constituted by women. The study has been concentrated on the ‘Working Women’ of the CBT area congruent with the subject matter of the inquiry.

Findings Marital status of the Respondents: The sample under consideration when classified as per the marital statuses show the preponderance of the Married respondents (72.93%) as evident in Table 1. 19.59% of the respondents are singly living working women in the study area. This group is composed of the unmarried, widowed and divorced working women representing 16.38%, 2.70% and 0.51% of the sample respectively. However, a proportion of 7.48% of the respondents have been designated as ‘single’ which includes Sex Workers representing 2.53% of the sample. Table: 1 Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status Sl. No. Marital Status Frequency % 1 Married 1296 72.93 2 Unmarried 291 16.38 3 Widow 48 2.70 4 Divorced 09 0.51 5 Single 133 7.48 Total 1777 100 Source: Field Survey, 2014

101 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Since the married respondents represent the lion share of the sample under study, it may be inferred that the working women of the CBT prefers a stable married life and kin relations. The presence of singly residing working women, though found to occur in small proportion (19.59%), point towards the independent living of the working women in the study area. Age at Marriage: The age at which women gets married may be designated as one of the major indicators for the social status of the target group and broadly as a general indicator for the level of development and social progress. Early marriages in the Third World socio-cultural setup led to maximum number of child births; subsequently it escorts the family to critical living standards and finally up to the ‘Vicious Cycle of Poverty’. In India, though the government has endorsed the marriage age for the females at 18 years and 21 years for the males, there are defiance found at places. This ratification of the age of marriage is important to have a hold on to the fertility and population growth. Generally, in towns, it is seen that women after the completion of their education enters into employment. After financial establishment they go into marriages and family. In pursuance of education and employment, the women reach almost in late twenties in age. Moreover, the working women owing to her occupation prefer a smaller number of children. Therefore, on the whole, population growth becomes reduced as a contribution from the urban educated working women. Since the whole of the universe represents the working women only, the proportion of the sample entering early family life constituted by 24.31% of working women of d”18 years reveals the aspiration of the women to supplement their family income and augment their living standards.

Table: 2 Marriage Age of the Respondents Sl. No. Age at Marriage (in Years) Frequency % Remarks

1  18 432 24.31 Early Marriage 2 19-24 572 32.19 Optimum Age 3 25-30 600 33.77 of Marriage 4 31-36 72 4.05 Late Marriage

5  37 16 0.90 6 Could not tell 85 4.78 - Total 1777 100 Source: Field Survey, 2014 It also reflects their mind-set of sharing the financial responsibility of the family complementing with that of their spouses. Table 2 shows that majority of the sample (65.96%) of the working women entered into married life between 19-30 years of age which may be referred to as the optimum age of marriage for the women. This age group also denotes that the respondents are economically active. Since the majority of the respondents initiate their conjugal life at the optimum age, it may be deduced that the respondents under study are able to take right decision at right time which help them to strike balance between career and personal life.

102 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Dr. Singhal (2003: 25) remarked in her study that ‘in urban society, majority of educated women try to get gainful employment immediately after completing their education. Nowadays, more and more women with higher education are trying to get paid employment’, it corroborates with the present study as well. The present study, however, does not confirm with the statement of Dr. Singhal that many of the working women discontinue their jobs after getting married, which might be true for metropolises. Late marriages however are infrequently represented by 4.95% of the sample in the study area. Type of Marriage underwent: Out of the total sample, 76.13% of the respondents got married. Of this proportion, 1296 working women were found currently married; 09 were found divorced and 48 of them were widows. Before going into the analysis, the terms like ‘Arranged Marriage’ and ‘Marriage by Own Selection’ or ‘Love Marriage’ needs to be clarified. Here, mention may be made by the connotation given by Dr. Astige in her work (2006). She explains that Arranged Marriages are negotiated and approved by the parents and guardians or kin members of the bride and the groom without their consultation. On the other hand, ‘Love Marriage is a form of marriage in which the boy and the girl interact with each other and develop a relationship on the basis of personal likes, common interests and finally decide to marry without considering the desires and wishes of the parents or guardians, sometimes much against the will of the parents’ (Astige, 2006: 99). The researcher during the field survey revealed that both the types of marriages have undergone metamorphosis in their character. The ‘Arranged Marriage’ has now become more malleable as the parents/ guardians or kin members find a match and they are allowed to interact before marriage. Through several meetings and interactions both the bridegroom gets to know each other, and they get married subsequently. Here, one thing must be kept in mind that the parents finalize the marriage on the first hand and then only the interaction between the would- be couple could be allowed. On the other hand, ‘Marriage by Own Selection’ has also undergone certain modifications; a boy and a girl develop a relationship by interacting with each other, when they decide to get married, they inform their parents about their choices. The parents of both the bride and the groom come together for the social marriage. The respondents were asked to point out the marriage type they had undergone. The result of the question has been shown in Table 3 which is as follows: Table: 3 Type of Marriage of the Respondents Marital Status Frequency Total Type of Frequency %(Out of Total Marriage Married) Married 1296 1353 Arranged 979 72.36 (76.13%) Divorced 09 Own Selection 374 27.64 Widowed 48 Unmarried 291 424(23.87%) Total Married 1353 100 Mutually Seperated 133 Total 1777 1777 Source: Field Survey, 2014 Coming on to the results of the field study, it was found that 72.36% of the married category of respondents stated that they had undergone Arranged Marriage, whereby their parents negotiated their marriage. The rest

103 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 27.64% of the married group reported that they had undergone marriage by their own selection. This shows that despite the respondents are highly educated and employed; they have greater reliance on their families on account of mate selection. Only 27.64% of the respondents have selected their life partners of their own. Preference for Marriage type: Dr. Astige is of opinion that modern youth tend to prefer love marriage as against arranged marriage (2006: 98). She had cited the works of Giriraj Khanna (1978), Kapur (1970) and Giriraj Gupta (1976) who had similar findings. However, the present study differs in the opinion. In this study area concerned, when the respondents were asked about their preference regarding the marriage type, a little more than half of the respondents (53.91%) voted for Arranged Marriage (Table 4). Table: 4 Preference regarding the Marriage Type by the Respondents Preference Categories Frequency % Arranged Marriage 958 53.91 Marriage by Own Selection 585 32.92 Both 197 11.09 No Preference 37 2.08 Total 1777 100 Source: Field Survey, 2014 The next group representing 32.92% of the sample preferred ‘Marriages by Own Selection’. 11.09% of the respondents preferred both the marriage types while 2.08% of the sample did not have their choice. The fact must not be forgotten that 60% of the respondents belong to the Matured Age group of 29-49 years of age. Conclusion Marriage is a significant indicator for the present study as well as for all studies related to women because life experiences change with time and life-cycle events. Marriage for women is one of the most important life- cycle events especially in the context of Indian society as: it is indicative of women’s mobility from parental abode to spouse’s house; it relates to the change in the control of women’s life from parents to spouses and in- laws; it confers social and material status to women. Most of the respondents in the sample (75.63%) are married (which includes married and widowed categories) representing stability in their lives and kin relations (Table 3). 65.96% of the respondents got married between 19-30 years (Table 2), which may be regarded as the optimum age of marriage. Maturity in age enables one to take up right decisions in their lives and by virtue of which the respondents are expected to strike a balance between home and workplace. The incidence of maximum number of respondents in the referred age group also indicate occurrence of economically active population at the same time. Most of the respondents (72.36%) have undergone arranged marriage while 27.64% of the sample experienced marriage by own selection (Table 3). As it has been found that the respondents enter family life at matured age after getting educated, it was expected that the working women would have experienced marriages by own selection, or they would have a strong preference for it. On the contrary, marriages by negotiation are preferred

104 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 the most by majority (53.91%) of the working women of Cooch Behar Town; but with changed characteristics from that of the traditional arranged marriages. the involvement of their parents for finding a match for them is particularly seen. Some of the respondents were of opinion that for the sake of social and family statuses they prefer arranged marriages. Many have stated that in order to ensure parental support they were in favour of arranged marriages. A few strongly believed that marriages by own selection does not last long. This might indicate the reluctance of the respondents in making decision for their own self. But at the same time, it must not be forgotten that the present study area is not a large city with a greater cosmopolitan culture. So, conventional practices are found in a transitional phase from traditional to modern. The working women prefers to meet the ‘would-be groom’ in order to build an idea of the likings, disliking and compatibility before marriage. The study thus unveiled the changing pattern of marriages. References Ahuja, R. (2013): Indian Social System, New Delhi, Rawat Publications, pp. 24, 117-118, 120-121, 137, 141, 200. Astige, Shanta B. (2006): Role and Status of Working Women, New Delhi, Anmol Publications, pp. 74-75, 81, 94-99, 101, 118-120, 143. Kothari, C.R. (2011): Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques, (2nd revised ed.), New Delhi, New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers, pp. 65-66, Singhal, T. (2003): Working Women and Family, Jaipur, Rajasthan, RBSA Publishers, pp. 3-12, 21-25. Web References http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/HLO/Metadata_Census_2011.pdf accessed on 29.06.17 at 12:22 am http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/workpart.aspx accessed on 06. 07.17 at 11:45 pm http://coochbehar.nic.in/htmfiles/cob_employment.html accessed on 09.07.17 at 2:09 am http:// coochbehar.nic.in/Htmfiles/CoB_economy.html accessed on 08.07.17 at 11:15 pm http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/reports_and_publication/statistical_publication/social_statistics/ Chapter_4.pdf accessed on 29.06.17 at 1:34 am http://iipsindia.org/pdf/b01cBhagat%20sir’s%20report.pd accessed on 08.07.17 at 11:50 pm http//labourbureau.nic.in/Statistical_Profile_WW_2012.pdf accessed on 08.07.17 at 11:35 pm www.wbpspm.gov.in accessed on 09.07.17 at 1:32 am

105 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Development of Tourism and Related Issues - A Case Study of Murshidabad Town, West Bengal

Sarmistha Das*

Abstract

Tourism is considered as the major growing industry in the world. It contributes highly in earnings of foreign currency and helps to increase gross national product too. It helps to generate employment and regional development through infrastructural development also. Thus, socio economic development of an area and tourism go hand in hand. Therefore, the study attempts to analyse the scope for development of tourism in historical place Murshidabad and bring out the relationship between tourism and socio-economic development in the town. The present study is based on primary and secondary data. The study adapted the random sampling method through structured questionnaire survey, personal interactions and discussions. Simple cartographic method and statistical application is used to analyse the data. The study identified the impact of tourism in the area. Problems faced by tourists are also clearly stated. It is suggested that more community awareness programme should be initiated to get more benefit from the existing tourism in Murshidabad. Sustainable tourism should be the approach for the sake of the development of the area.

Keywords tourism, development, socio economic impact, tourists, sustainable development

Introduction

In present days, tourism is one of the world’s major growing industries. Tourism has an important effect in countries economy. It makes an important contribution to gross national product and provides much needed foreign exchange (Birundha,2003). United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimates that internationally there were just 25 million tourist arrivals in 1950.After 66 years this number has increased to 1.2 billion international tourist arrivals per year. This is a 49-fold increase. As one of the world’s largest economic sectors, Travel and Tourism creates jobs, drives exports, and generates prosperity across the world. According to the Word Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), global tourism generated $7.6 trillion for the global GDP in 2014, making it world’s fastest growing and largest sectors. It creates a variety of jobs which effect local economic activity of a region. So tourism is recognised as socio economic indicator of a region because of employment opportunities and infrastructure development as a result of it. Under this

*Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Krishnagar Govt. College, Krishnagar, Nadia Email: [email protected] Received: 16 May 2017 / Accepted: 6 August 2017

106 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 situation, the present study has tried to assess the development of tourismand highlight on related issues in Murshidabad Town, West Bengal.

Objectives

1. To highlight the background study for development of tourism in Murshidabad.

2. To analyse the existing infrastructure to support tourism in Murshidabad Town

3. To evaluate the tourism and development related issues in the area

4. To identify the problems and their probable solutions

Methodology

The study is mainly based on primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected through a structured questionnaire survey in different households, tourists and hotels of Murshidabad Municipality. Random sampling method has been used in the selection of households. Structured Questionnaires has been prepared to access the inter relationship between tourism and regional development and to get response from different respondents. Collection of information and secondary data from different journals, books, literatures has been done as pre- field study. In the post-field study with the help of simple descriptive and quantitative, cartographic and statistical techniques primary and secondary data has been analysed.

About the Study Area

Geographically Murshidabad Sadar sub-division located in the eastern side of district Murshidabad, Jiaganj- Azimganj municipality in the North, Bhagirathi River in the East and Natungram gram panchayet in the South. Murshidabad district is lying between 23º43´ and 24°50¹ north and between 87°49 ¹ and 88° 46¹ east extending over 5324 sq.km. Present area under Murshidabad Municipality is 17.25 sq.km having 16 wards with a population of 44024 in the 2011 census.

Discussion

Background Study for the Development of Tourism

Physical Settings

Murshidabad town is located under tropical hot and humid monsoon type of climate with maximum and minimum temperature about 42°C and 24°C respectively. The average rainfall is 1344mm which is received in the month of June-September. Alluvial soil is the major soil found in the district. Red lateritic alluviums are found in the west of Bhagirathi in the Ruhr plain.

Historical Places of Tourists’ Attractions

Murshidabad is important for its age old historical and cultural background. Murshidabad, the lost capital city of independent Bengal was named after Nawab Murshid Quali Khan, the Dewan of Bengal, Bihar and

107 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Orissa. This was made capital of Bengal in 1717. The British shifted the capital to Kolkata in 1773.Many historical places are scattered in different parts of Murshidabad. Hazarduari Palace is the most famous tourists’ spot with thousand doors. Near this palace another monument Imambara is located which is famous for its staircases.Motijheel a horseshoe lake was famous for its pearl cultivation during the nawab period. The other places of attractions are Khatra mosque, Nasipur Palace, KathgolaBagan, Jahonkosha canon, Jafariganj cemetery, Wasefmanzil, Bachhawalitoph, JahanKhoshToph, Jagat Seth’s House, MeerJafar’s House or Nimak Haram Deori,Motijhil and Motijhil Mosque,NasipurAkhra etc. Apart from historical place, Murshidabad is carved with natural beauty also. So, nature lovers are also been attracted. It can be said that Murshidabad itself has immense potentiality for the development of tourism.

Nature and Pattern of Tourist Flow

This study has been analysed here based on field survey. Year wise tourist data (Table1) has been collected from Archaeological Survey of India, Hazarduari Palace Museum. This data shows that there is a constant increase in tourist’s flows from 2000 to 2014 in Murshidabad.

Table 1: Year-wise Arrival of Tourists Year No.of Tourists 2000 174348 2001 217765 2002 350880 2003 321170 2004 324040 2005 359133 2006 390010 2007 412262 2008 496335 2009 617400 2010 617078 1011 680767 2012 713422 2013 717912 2014 720385 Source:Archeological Survey of India, Hazarduari Palace 108 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Month wise tourist inflow 2014 diagram (Figure 1) shows that both domestic and foreign tourist visit Murshidabad which are mostly seasonal. Throughout the year tourist inflow is low but it is remarkably high in winter. Domestic tourist flow diagram (Figure 2) depicts that tourists come to Murshidabad mainly from Berhampore, Beldanga, Palasy, Rampurhat, Medinipur and Kolkata.

Figure1: Monthwise Tourist Inflow in Murshidabad Town

Figure 2: Domestic Tourists Flow

109 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 The purpose of visit of the domestic tourist is well depicted as per the respondents. 50% surveyed respondents visit Murshidabad as tourists, 25% reside with their family, 15% come here for business purpose and rest 10% respondents come here for other works (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Purpose of Visit of Tourists According to the secondary data collected from Hazarduari Palace, foreign tourists’ arrival in 2009 was 407, in 2010 was 500, in 2011 was 690, in 2012 was 649, in 2013 was 647and in 2014 was 683.

Figure 4: Places of Tourists’ Interest According to the secondary survey domestic tourists’ arrival in Hazarduari Palace in 2009 was 617400, in 2010 was 617078, in 2011 680767, in 2012 was 713422, in 2013 was 717912, in 2014 was

110 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 720386.Hazarduari palace is mostly visited (Figure 4) by all tourists followed by Khatra Masjjid, Nasipur Palace, Kathgola Bagan, Jagat Seth’s house and so on. Most of the domestic tourists complete their visit in a day and go back in the same day. Nominal percentage of tourists stays in Murshidabad during their visit (Figure 5)

Figure 5: Duration of Stay of Tourists in Murshidabad Town Existing Infrastructure for Development of Tourism

Accommodation is the basic need for the development of tourism. There are three typesof hotels in the municipality area like only lodging, food and lodging and only food. There are 13.33% hotels with only lodging facilities, 53.33% hotels with food and lodging facilities and 33.33% hotels provide only food. There are two hotels run by the Government of West Bengal in Berhampore and others are private. Each hotel has AC and non-AC rooms. No such star hotels are there for the foreigners. Different types of hotels have different types of room rent. A survey of hotels reveals that room rent also varies from season to season depending on tourist flow. In tourist season, price of rooms in hotels in Murshidabad Municipality is much higher than other months, for example, two bedded AC room in deluxe hotels are rented at Rs.1800 butduring lean season the same is rented at 1000.

Table 2: Rent of Hotels (in rupees) AC Normal Ac Deluxe Non AC Non AC Deluxe Dormitory season lean season lean season lean season lean season lean 1200 1000 1800 1000 600 400 800 600 800 500 A six bedded dormitory is rented in tourist season at Rs. 800 but in the lean season it is rented at Rs. 500 only (Table 2). As tourist inflow is very much seasonal, hotel owners thus do not have steady flow in their business.

111 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 So, they try to achieve their maximum profit in the tourist season. Thus, tourists have to pay exorbitant amount for their visit in Murshidabad. Food is the second basic necessity for the tourists where they visit. In Berhampore there are three types hotels found in the municipality area like only lodging, lodging and food and only food. There are 13.33% hotel with only lodging facilities, 53.33% hotels with lodging and food facilities and 33.33% hotels provide only food facilities. As various types of food are available in the study area, tourists do not have problem with food. Communication is very important for the development of tourism. Murshidabad is well connected by rail and roads with different parts of West Bengal. Lalgola Passenger and Hazarduari Express connect Murshidabad with Kolkata. One can reach Murshidabad within 5hrs 30 min covering almost 200 km from Kolkata by road via Kalyani Expressway and NH12. After reaching autos, totos, rickshaws, tongas, and hiring cars are ready for tourists to visit all the places. But fare of each mode of transport varies in peak and lean tourist season. Tourism and Development Related Issues Benefit of Local People Hotel business is the most important economic activity in Murshidabad Municipality. Growth of hotels is confined mostly in and around Berhampore Town and Lalbagh. There are 25 to 30 private hotels at Berhampore. This business has generated a volume of employment potential for the local people. From hotel survey it is clear that 57.7% are permanent workers while 42.3% workon a temporary basis. Apart from hotel business, local people who are benefitted from this tourism are rickshaw puller, auto driver, tonga driver,guides, shop keepers etc. As the tourist inflow in Murshidabad is highly seasonal, these people do not have steady flow in their earnings. So, they are bound to engage in other alternative occupation during lean period. Role of Administration Local government plays an important role in promoting sustainable tourism development. Murshidabad municipality, the local authority is responsible for providing infrastructure and amenities in the area. Tourists as well as hotel owners or local people are not so satisfied with its service. Drinking water served by municipality is not so regular all over the municipal area. Internal road maintenance is poor in Murshidabad. The local government must be more prompt to create a network of stake holders including agencies, community groups and private sector to invest in and promote their local tourist offering (Birundha 2003).

Findings

The above study reveals that tourism that has developed in Murshidabad is very much confined within Murshidabad town. Though Murshidabad has every possibility to become one of the best tourist centres in West Bengal, still many areas remain unrevealed. Murshidabad is blessed with variety of tourist centres like historical, religious and natural tourist spots. Shasanka’s kingdom is still unapproached. Kiriteshswari temple, one of the sati peeth is not so popular to the tourist (research gate net publication,2012). There are forts and palaces which can unfold historical and archaeological information. Scenic beauty of the Bhagirathi may be the focus of attraction of nature lovers.

112 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Tourism that is practised in Murshidabad is purely conventional in nature. The rich history, heritage and culture of Murshidabad are not being properly portrayed for tourist attraction. Recreational facility is absent to attract more tourists throughout the year. More initiatives should be taken by the government. for the advertisement and publicity of less popular tourist spots. No such compact tour plan has yet been planned. That is why tourists prefer a single day visit in Murshidabad. Hot summer is the sole reason for seasonal tourism. It has ill effects on hotel business as well as to the local people.

Problems Related to Tourism

Tourists face various problems regarding high charges of accommodation and local transport. Apart from these they have complained about the quality of water. Dearth of community toilet in different tourist spots has also been mentioned by them.

Local people face so many problems in tourist season. Narrow roads get congested during tourist season due to huge flow of local transport. In tourist season problem of waste is artificially created by tourists by throwing their left over here and there. Hotel owners or local people are not satisfied with the performance of Murshidabad Municipality. No such proper campaign for tourism or promotional programme has been taken yet by the Municipality.

Recommendation for Further Development of Tourism

The Government of West Bengal should give more emphasis to frame tourism policies to make it more attractive to foreign tourists. To flourish tourism in Murshidabad Municipality major steps are required to be taken by the Murshidabad Municipality too. Unexplored tourist spots need publicity to attract tourists. Existing transportation system needs improvement. In some places, roads are also too narrow. Tourists have stated that safety and security in the town should be improved further and price of food and accommodation should have fixed rate. To make Murshidabad more attractive some amusement park or programmes may be improvised both by the local and the state government.

Conclusion

Murshidabad has enormous potential for prosperity in tourism. It is time to redesign tourism packages of Murshidabad for promoting commercial tourism. Keeping in view the high relevance of modern tourism catering to large number of tourists, several type of facilities for accommodation, transport and recreation must be developed in a planned way and in order to provide for the needs and the comforts of the tourists. Financial supports for the development of various amenities should be given by the government to the local bodies and deserving agencies. Through the detailed in-depth analysis of tourist centres, the planners, researchers, and decision-makers would be able to decide the priorities for investment in tourism development (Praveen, 2002). Environmental planning must also be accorded full consideration in the process of tourism development. So, tourism can be properly developed without causing deterioration of the environment at the local and regional levels. This would strengthen the long-term socio-economic development of Murshidabad district.

113 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

Acknowledgment

I would like to convey my sincere thanks to Sri Shambhunath Ghosh, the Chairman of Murshidabad Municipality. Help received at the office of Hazarduari Palace is thankfully acknowledged.

Author declares no conflict of interest.

References

Dhulsai B.V. (2003): Environmental Challenges TowardsToursim, Kaniska Publishers,New Delhi, pp 208.

O’Malley LSS (1914): Bengal District Gazetteers,Murshidabad District,Government of West Bengal, Calcutta, pp 22-80 Kaul R.N. (1985): Dynamics of Tourism,A Triology, Vol 1,Sterling Publishers Private Limited, Bangalore

Sethi P. (2002): Millennium Trends in Travel and Tourism, Rajat Publication,New Delhi.

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Trafficking of Women and Children in India-An organised crime in appraisal, the perceptions and policy recommendations

Shampa Dutta* Abstract

Modernisation and development needs to be defined not only in terms of how much a country has achieved in economic footings but also in terms of the living conditions of the people within it, especially the women and children who are the bearers of the future generation and the future of a country respectively, but quite unfortunately the picture presented is a dismal one as regarding the status and position of these two sections of population in India. Amongst various social crimes that occurs in this country, trafficking of women and children has assumed a precarious depiction. In the present study an attempt has been made to throw light on the factual basis of trafficking, thereby recommendations have also been put forward which if can be realised,will work as way outs.

Keywords Development, modernisation, crime, trafficking, recommendations Introduction The status of women in India was viewed by Indian and British reformers and politicians as one of the indices by which to measure the extent of development, modernisation and traditionalism of a nation. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries important trends in thought and ideology such as westernisation, revivalism, reforms, nationalism and modernisation concerned themselves with the question of women of India. The Indian woman became a political issue and the focus of debate and discussion, controversy, indictments and counter accusations. Crime against women are on the rise, along with crimes in general. The burden of the resulting violence is borne by the marginalised sections of the society, women in particular. Most crimes against women go unreported for understandable reasons - social stigma, drawbacks in legal mechanisms, fear of reprisal and so on. Institutional indifference makes matters additionallyworse. Importantly crime against women have roots in the male dominated socio-economic, legal and political order.These crimes are identified under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and are used as indices in gaging women’s status. Such nature of crimes are identified as follows: rape,

*Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, A. B. N. Seal College,Cooch Behar, West Bengal Email: [email protected]

Received: 7 September 2017 / Accepted: 12 October 2017 115 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 kidnapping and abduction for different purposes, homicide for dowry, dowry deaths, molestation, sexual harassment, importation of girls etc. In fact children are also not spared from this evil. Trafficking of women and children for flesh has emerged as one of the most profitable illegal trades next to trade in narcotics and arms. Every year an estimated 4 million people mainly women and children are trafficked world-wide and about one million children are trafficked into local and global sex industries. (Cook, 1998).Amongst these 4 million women and children trafficked every year, 45,000 to 50,000 are trafficked to US alone, about 30,000 are trafficked from South East Asia and 10,000 from Latin America. According to a report on the State of World Populations, 1997, commercial sex is ever increasing in the third world countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America and also in the Eastern Europe because of high unemployment, rural poverty, growing inequalities in wealth and heightening demand. Trafficking of women and children is reported to be on the rise in Asia.In the scale of organised crimes, human trafficking ranks third behind drugs and arms smuggling. Trafficking involves gross violation of human rights. People suffer from physical, mental abuse and social stigmatization. They become isolated, losing ties with their former lives and families (Heeswijk, 2003).The alarming number of women and children being trafficked for forced labour or slavery like practices including commercial sex exploitation, is a concern for development agencies and government. The complexity of trafficking, the links with instinctual issues such as commercial sex work and exploitation of children and the politics of migration management have meant that there is much contention over the definition of trafficking and the types of policies and programming that would effectively combat this heinous crime and affect basic human rights (Asian Development Bank, 2003). The United Nations define human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labour or sexual exploitation. (https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/human-trafficking/pages/welcome.aspx). The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (known as the Palermo Protocol adopted in November 2000) by Article 3 defines trafficking as: . . . the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another personfor the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or service, slavery or practice similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organ. (http://www.kirkleessafeguardingchildren.co.uk/managed/File/Info for Professionals/2016-01-2) Trafficking is a phenomenon that affects and incriminates all regions and most countries of the world. While trafficking routes are constantly changing, onepersistent factor behind its occurrence is the economic distinction between countries of origin and countries of destination. As with all other forms of irregular migration, trafficking invariably involves movement from a poorer country to a wealthier one. As for instance, SouthEast Asian women are trafficked to North America and South East Asian countries, African women are trafficked to WesternEurope. The persons associated with this act use a variety of recruitment methods including outright abduction and even purchase from family members (World Conference against Racism, September 2001)

116 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 In order to explore potential entry points to address trafficking through poverty eradication initiatives, dynamics of trafficking is to be understood. The most commonly identified cause behind this social evil is poverty. Lack of human and social capital, gender discrimination are causes behind.Lack of effective governance, deprivation, marginalisation and vulnerability may also cause trafficking. Macro factors such as impact of globalisation, employment, trade, migration policies, conflicts and environmental disasters can set into motion, circumstances that increase vulnerabilities.Development induced risks and displacement also play a role in trafficking. Trafficking occurs for a multiple number of reasons. On the demand side it is due to increase in tourism and industrialisation,rural-urban migration, expanding demand for commercial sex workers promoted by organised male dominated value system. On the supply side, the primary reason being poverty, the other reasons are erosion of the traditional family system, values, gender disparity and feminization of poverty (Hindu, December 15, 2005). A report of the Central Advisory Committee on Child Prostitution, published in May 1994, stated that 12-15 percent of the prostitutes in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata,Hyderabad, and Bangalore are children. It is estimated that 30% of the prostitutes in these big cities have agewise entered the youth and nearly half of them have become commercial sex workers when they were minors. Child trafficking denotes the procurement, recruitment, transportation,transfer, harbour or receipt of persons legally or illegally within or across borders,by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception. Children are trafficked for labour and other forms of exploitation such as domestic labour, industrial labour, begging, orphan trade etc. InIndia the abuse of children by tourists assume aserious dimension. Child prostitution for long is socially connected with a rigid ceremonial system known as the Devadasipratha. ‘Devadasis’ are women dedicated to serving the deities as dancing girls at a very young age and are compelled to lead a life of indignity. The tradition was that the young girls belonging to a community to be engaged in temples to perform dance and music for the edification of the deities and as such they were regarded as Devadasis (servants of God).They were often the children of mothers from the same profession, born and reared in the temple precincts, but they might be daughters of ordinary citizens, given in childhood to the God as pious offerings. They dedicated themselves to the service of Gods, were regarded as married to those divinities and therefore obliged to abstain from all communication with mortals. Such young minors from socially disadvantaged societies are given to the Gods and they become religious prostitutes (Natarajan, Samitha Rani 2013, 205). According to National Commission for Women, an estimated 2.50 lakh women have been dedicated as Devadasis in Maharashtra and Kerala borders (Khanna Sonika.Singh Awadhesh Kumar 2009, 344). The exploitation of women and children takes place not only before trafficking but also during and after trafficking. Vulnerability situations and gender discriminations have not only been promoting and facilitating trafficking but also have been perpetuating it.Women and children are subjected to physical and emotional harm, sexual assault, economic deprivation and violation of dignity. The post trafficking scenario is also very depressing with almost no hope of survival. There is no institutionalised mechanism for social rehabilitation of victims. The traffickers and their partners do not respect jurisdictions, laws, and even police which leads to the victims facing severe health hazards and deprivation of educational opportunities. They lead to a miserable life, devoid of dignity and self-esteem (The Hindu, December 15, 2005).

117 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 The prostitution is not confined to sexual abuse as it encompasses sexual harassment, rape, battering, verbal abuse, domestic violence, childhood sex abuse (Prostitution-research.com). The spread of HIV/AIDS is enhanced by the illegal sex trade and affects the population and health, especially of women. Besides that contraception is not always available in these areas leading to increasing rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Their life span becomes shorter as they suffer from malnutrition, neglect, HIV/AIDS and above all emotional and psychological breakdown. Trafficking has now become a global crime. But there is a lack of organised and dependable data on the problem. Even some of the most commonly cited global estimates vary widely from one to four million a year. According to United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), two million people become victims of trafficking each year, of whom 1.2 million are children. The International Labour Organisation (ILO)has estimated that 1.2 million children – boys and girls – are trafficked each year into exploitative work in agriculture, mining, factories, armed conflict or commercial sex work. It is very difficult to judge or estimate the scale of the phenomenon; and collecting reliable information is a tough exercise due to the concealed nature of the operation.

Again according to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), 150,000 people are trafficked within South Asia annually.It is particularly argued that India has the world’s largest labour trafficking problem with hundreds and thousands of sex trafficking victims and millions of bonded labourers including forced child labourers.

The path breaking study of the Action Research on Trafficking in Women and Children (ARTWAC), show that the majority of such victims were from the states of Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi and West Bengal including Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.Apart from inter-state trafficking, a large number of girls are also trafficked to India from Bangladesh and Nepal.

It is also seen that the parents voluntarily send their children to far off places for work, such as the construction or jewellery industries, and do not know that the boys often become bonded labourers reaching there. Many of the so-called voluntary migrants later find themselves in a situation of involuntary servitude, including extended working hours, non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement by withholding passports apart from physical or sexual abuse. The much-publicised ban on child labour is hardly executed and as of December 2006, state governments have identified 1672 violations of this ban, based on the 23,166 inspections being carried out. There is therefore serious void in recording crimes under different heads apart from the general apathy of our police administration to link trafficking with crimes like child labour, child marriage, kidnapping and abduction of women and children. It has been clearly recorded that child marriage is a major modus operandi of trafficking of minor girls. But again there is serious disagreement in accepting the official records to estimate the problem. This is because child marriages are hardly reported to the police. Thus, only 99 cases of child marriages were reported in the year 2006 and over the last five years a total of only 490 cases were brought to the forefront. But there is a silent complicity to child marriage in many parts of the country with rural and backward communities treating it as normal and routine. The latest National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS) has reported that the percentage of under-18 marriages of girls in the country has increased from 34% in 1998-99 to 45.6% in 2005-2006.

118 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Despite problems with our case registration system and the general tendency to hide or suppress women- related issues, the number is increasing every year, and 22,516 women and children were kidnapped and abducted in 2006 alone. Although trafficking is distinct from kidnapping/abduction, it would not be erroneous to claim that at least some of them and more particularly the abducted childrenare also trafficked.

The Asian Development Bank study reveals that out of a total of 11,119 kidnapped and abducted women in 1999 in the state of Tamil Nadu, 82.37% (9159) were forced into prostitution. The ARTWAC study has disclosed that on average 22,480 women and 44,476 children were reported missing in India between 1996 and 2001. Of these, more than 5452 women and 11,008 children continue to remain missing. Over 1400 girls went missing from West Bengal in 2006 alone apart from 1787 adult women.

The ARTWAC study has also proved that there is a wide gap between the actual figures of crime reported to the police (5914) and the crimes that had actually taken place (14,597), as estimated by the police officers themselves. Most strikingly the extent of re-trafficking among the survivors is found to be as large as 57%. This means that victims are being criminalised; they are harassed and not easily accepted by their community. All these estimates clearly raise serious doubts about the official figures on trafficking. Considering all evidence and arguments, it can fairly be argued that the extent of human trafficking in India in a year is close to one million.

Apart from the reasons cited above, the lesser reportage of trafficking cases under the ITPA is also due to the official method of categorising an offence. Police and the victim’s family most often fail to understand that there exists a mysterious link between trafficking and missing. By and large, the First Information Report (FIR) in such circumstances states ‘a girl or child is being missing’, and attempts are hardly made to link such cases with trafficking. To the police,a clear case of trafficking cannot be established just by disappearance of any person. It is a fact that some cases of disappearances are linked to developement.

There are several other factors responsible for under-reporting of the phenomenon. Trafficking is very hard to measure because in many cases the family members, relatives, and friends give consent for young girls/boys going to distant places for lucrative learning. Problems usually start when the flow of money sent by the girl stops and the communication link is cut off. The failure of the relatives, neighbours and the civil society in general to stand by the sufferings of women and children and bring the matter to the notice of the police may be one powerful reason. Despite the initiatives taken by the Government of India in addressing the issues of trafficking and commercial exploitation of children, at both national and state levels, a lot is yet to attempted from an institutional point of view.As a result, both the number of cases filed under the ITPA as well as arrests and prosecution of master traffickers, who are the kingpins of the entire operation, remain far below expectations. (https://www.researchgate.net / publication / 235560679 _Trafficking _in _women _and _children _in_India_nature_dimensions_and_strategies_for_prevention) Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, have already made efforts to combat trafficking in women and children by launching a few programmes for economic empowerment of women and children such as Kishori Shakti Yojana, Swayam Siddhaa to name a few. The National AIDS Control Society in collaboration with civil society organisations has implemented social marketing programme for prevention of HIV/ AIDS among commercial sex workers in different prohibited areas of India.

119 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 There are no easy solutions to the plague of trafficking, but its magnitude requires quick action. For combating the phenomenon, it requires holistic, interdisciplinary, multidimensional approaches and strategies which address each aspect of the trafficking cycle and which recognise explicitly the connections among trafficking, migration, racism and racial discrimianation. Some of the policy recommendations are given below: • Migrants need protection and policies, programmes to facilitate safe migration. The communities also need to be made aware of harmful traffickers.

• Sub-regional strategies and programmes for curbing trafficking and reducing poverty as well as vulnerability should be evolved in collaboration with non-governmental organisations, private sectors, donor agencies and governments.

• Strict enforcement of existing laws with severe penalties for those connected to trafficking in child prostitution should be ensured. Formulation of new laws under which the clients and agents are punished rather than the victims, should also be ensured.

• Inter-country cooperation is needed to curb the human trafficking. The cooperation should be strengthened through imparting special training to police and other government personnel to sensitize them to the problem.

• The law should precisely define the crime of trafficking.It should focus on the traffickers and not the customer and must not punishthe victim. The anti-trafficking law should be complete andself-sufficient. Thus, some provisions in existing laws should be amended in order to give priority to the accountability, intention, far-reaching impact on the victim rather physical aspect of the Act.

• The separate agencies and task forces should be set up to monitor the anti-trafficking work and carry out studies for situational analysis time to time.

• Laws should ban evil social customs which have been perpetuated in the name of folk culture, traditions and rituals which actually induct young girls and children into flesh trade. Social campaigning should be launched in partnership with NGOs for rehabilitation of prostitutes especially among the specific castes and communities.

• Government should establish centres for guidance, protective homes, rescue homes, special juvenile homes and rehabilitation centres in different parts, particularly in human trafficking prone areas of the country.

• Anall-inclusive policy on trafficking and commercial, sexual exploitation of children is required to be made. Rehabilitation package to victims, prostitutes, and sex workers should encompass health care services, supplies of drugs and medicines, testing of HIV/AIDS, gynaecological care facilities, contraception, crèche and day-night care of children of prostitutes, free and compulsory education to children of prostitutes, health and counselling education including reproductive and sexual health matters etc. The trafficking of children particularly girls remains a key concern. Dedicated training can make practitioners better equipped to detect and assist these victims, ensuring that the best interest of the child is safeguarded.

120 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 • Integrated community development schemes in all areas and income generating support for rescued child prostitutes, young girls and other victims should be launched by governments. Rehabilitation programmes should aim towards changing the direction of the lives of the prostitutes and victim children.

• To make wide publicity against trafficking and violence against women, seminars, conferences can be organised in collaboration with social activists, government officials, media persons, academicians and people from every stratum of the society. Community should step forward for their cause by devising means to check the issue and to make door to door campaign against child marriage, dowry, and trafficking to reach parents at their homes, strengthen information network through vernacular pamphlets highlighting case studies so that it can reach to the poor people. Administrative steps can be taken by incorporating anti-trafficking provisions and victims rehabilitation programmes into national policies and legislations.

Provision of protection,rehabilitation and reintegration services,free medical check-up, legal and referral services on humanitarian considerations to trafficking victims may consequentially check the crime but it must be mentioned that in the age of globalisation, economic liberalisation and consumerism, people demand more enjoyment in their life and women as well as innocent children become an easy prey. Thus until the social attitude towards these sections of population are changed, this persistent disease of the society is hard to be removed. References Bhaumik Biswas, M. (2010): The Status of Women in India, Delhi, Abhijeet Publications, pp-117-118 Natarajan, Ms. Samitha R. (2013): Exploitation of Women, NewDelhi, Jnanada Prakashan (P&D), pp- 205 Pandey, S.P., Singh, S.P., Singh, A.K. (2009): Domestic Violence against Women in India, Gurgaon, Madhav Books, pp-1-2 Pujari, P., Jha, U. S. (1996): Indian Women Today: Tradition, Modernity, Challenge, Vol.1, New Delhi, Kanishka Publishers and Distributors, pp-1 Web references https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/human-trafficking/pages/welcome.aspx,accessed on 07.08.2016 at 9.30 p.m.. http://www.kirkleessafeguardingchildren.co.uk/managed/File/Info for Professionals/2016-01-2, accessed on 10/08/2016 at 9.15 p.m. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235560679 Trafficking in women and children in India nature dimensions and strategies for prevention accessed on 10/08/2016 at 9.30 a.m.

121 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Twenty-four Cosmic Principles According to Tattvabodha: A Gift of the Sâmkhyans to Advaita-vedânta

Ranita Ghosh*

Abstract

Tattvabodha is a Sanskrit text of Advaita-vedânta philosophy. It is a work of Samkarâcârya. After discussion about the eternity of the Âtman or Self, Tattvabodha says about the perishableness of the non-Self- athacaturvimsatitattvotpattiprakâramvaksyâmah (Tattvabodha25). What this caturvimsatitattva stands for? These 24 cosmic principles are related to Sâmkhya philosophy. Keeping the Puruca (Self) aside, Sâmkhyans count 24 cosmic principles. Sâmkhya accepts the eternity of mûlaPrakti. Unlike in Sâmkhya philosophy, Prakti or mâyâ is not eternal in Advaita-vedânta philosophy. The scheme of the Sâmkhyan cosmology was by and large acceptable for the Vedântins. With some changes, Vedântins have adapted it for the vyâvahârika or practical purposes.

Keywords

Brahman, Mâyâ, Îsvara, Jîva, Jagat, Purusa, Prakrti, Mahat, Ahamkâra, Jñânendriya, Karmendriya, Manas, Tanmâtra, Mahâbhûta, Prâna, Hiranyagarbha.

Introduction

Tattvabodha is a work of samkarâcârya. Tattvabodha is a text of Advaita-vedânta philosophy. Though the book appears to merely mention the different aspects of Advaita-vedânta, it anticipates discussion and deep thought. According to tradition, Sâmkhya is the oldest philosophy in India. Of the six systems of Indian philosophy, Sâmkhya and Yoga are a group, Nyâya and Vaisesika are a group, and Pûrva- mîmâmsâ and Uttara-mîmâmsâ are a group. Sâmkhya was the discovery of Kapila—the great sage of the ancient times.

Discussion

Sâmkhya philosophy has two eternal principles. One is Self, called Purusa, and the other is non-Self, called Prakrti. Purusa-s are countless, while prakrti is one. Each one of our Self or Soul is a Purusa. Kapila believed in God too, but later Sâmkhyans have perhaps sidelined Îsvara (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; p. 231).

*Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit, KrishnagarGovernment College, Nadia,West Bengal, Email: [email protected] Received: 10 May 2017 / Accepted: 2 July 2017

122 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 In Advaita-vedânta philosophy only Brahman is real. Brahman is the only Truth. Of the other two jagat is false and jîva is non-different from Brahman. This is mentioned in 21stsloka of Brahmanâmâvalîmâlâ by samkarâcârya—

brahma satyamjaganmithyâjîvobrahmaivanâparah/ idamevatu sac châstramitivedântadindimah//

Unlike in Sâmkhya, there is no dualism of Purusa and Prakrti in Advaita-vedânta. According to pratibimbavâda,Brahman is suddhacaitanya, Îsvara is bimbacaitanya and jîva is pratibimbacaitanya. When avidyâ or mâyâ appears before eternal Pure Consciousness, there is the reflection i.e. pratibimbacaitanya, and Consciousness is called bimbacaitanya. Before such reflection Consciousness was only Consciousness or Pure Consciousness i.e. suddhacaitanya. Brahman, Îsvara and jîva are identical (Goswami 2015; pp. 41, 61, 63). Advaitins say that jîvafor the enlightened is only one, for that enlightened soul never sees duality. In liberation, there is only One i.e. Brahman. For the ignorant, jîva-s are countless.

The Advaitin says that the desire to be many that is in Îsvara is the seed of creation: bahusyâmprajâyeyeti. This desire is called sisrksât or the desire to create. In the Veda-s it has been declared that God assumes countless forms using His mâyâ: indromâyâbhihpururûpaîyate. Desire is the seed, and hence it is called ignorance or mâyâ (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 232-233).

Mâyâ according to Advaita-vedânta is that power which veils the Truth and makes It appear as many. Mâyâ consists of three qualities, sattva, rajas and tamas. Since mâyâ is made of three qualities, all of its projection (or creation)—from space down to the blade of grass—is made of the three qualities too. In every atom of the universe, gross or subtle, the three qualities are present—more or less according to the nature and function of the thing itself. The words mâyâ, prakriti, avidyâ, and so on are synonyms (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 234-235). This theory is identical with Samkhya philosophy. According to Sâmkhya philosophy, Prakrti consists of three qualities i.e. sattva, rajas and tamas. In Sâmkhyasûtra it is said— sattvarajastamasâmsâmyâvasthâPrakrtih (Sâmkhyasûtra 1/61). Keeping the Purusa aside, Sâmkhyans count 24 cosmic principles. Prakriti and the other 23 cosmic principles which evolve from prakrti are made of these three qualities. The three qualities are present more or less in these 24 cosmic principles according to their nature.

The Prakrti of Sâmkhyans is a real entity, but that of Advaita-vedânta is relatively real. Mâyâ is explained in a beautiful verse of Pañcadasî (6/130): ‘Mâyâ is looked upon in three different ways: (a) from the viewpoint of Self-knowledge, it is negligible (tucchâ); (b) from the viewpoint of reasoning, it is indefinable (anirvacanîyâ); and (c) from the viewpoint of ordinary prople, it is real (vâstavî).’ That is, mâyâ is worthless for the person of Self-knowledge; indefinable for the scholars because they are midway between Self-knowledge and ignorance; and real for the people of the world (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; p. 235).

According to the Sâmkhyan cosmology, for the exhibition of Prakriti to Purusa and for the emancipation of Purusa there is conjunction between Purusa and Prakriti like the union between the lame and the blind. From this conjunction proceeds creation. From MûlaPrakritior the PrimordialMatter evolves mahat or

123 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 buddhi or the cosmic intelligence. Buddhi is ascertainment or will. Virtue, knowledge, dispassion and power are its manifestations when sattva attribute abounds. The buddhi abounding in tamas attribute has just the reverse of those four properties, viz, vice or demerit, ignorance, passion and servility. From buddhi evolves ahamkâra or ego. Ahamkâra is self-assertion. From sâttvikaahamkâra evolves the set of eleven consisting of the sense organs—five sensory and five motor, and mind. From tâmasaahamkâra evolves the five-fold primary (or rudimentary) elements or tanmâtra-s. From ahamkâra abounding in rajoguna proceed both the sets of eleven and five. The rajas attribute of ahamkâra becomes instrumental in the evolution of both the sets of products by the sattva and tamas attributes of ahaAkâra by exciting sattva and tamas to perform their own activities. The five organs of knowledge or cognition are called the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue and the skin. Of these, the organ through which colour is perceived is the eye, that which perceives sound is the ear, that which perceives odour is the nose, that which perceives taste is the tongue, and that which perceives touch is the skin. The five organs of action are called the speech, the hand, the feet, the excretory organ and the organ of generation. The functions of these five organs of action are speaking, handling, walking, excretion and gratification respectively. The eleventh sense organ—mind or manas possesses the nature of both the sensory and motor organs. Mind is deliberative. Manas, buddhi and ahamkâra are called antahkarana-s. The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action are called bâhyakarana-s. Therefore, there are thirteen karana-s. The five airs such as prâna, apâna, samâna, udâna and vyâna form the common functions of the three antahkarana-s. These five vital airs are the very life of the three antahkarana- s (Virupakshananda S. 2016; pp. 10, 63-75, 78-81). The five tanmâtra-s are sabdatanmâtra,sparsatanmâtra,rûpatanmâtra,rasatanmâtra and gandhatanmâtra, which are the primary elements of sound, touch, colour, taste and odour respectively. From the five tanmâtra-s evolve five gross elements or mahâbhûta-s such as space (âkâsa), air (vâyu), fire (tejas), water (ap) and earth (prthvî). From the primary element of sound proceeds space having sound as its characteristic property. From the primary element of touch as combined with that of sound, proceeds air with sound and touch as its characteristic properties. From the primary element of colour as combined with those of sound and touch proceeds fire with sound, touch and form as its characteristic properties. From the primary element of taste as combined with those of sound, touch and form proceeds water with sound, touch, form and taste as its characteristic properties. From the primary element of odour as combined with those of sound, touch, form and taste proceeds earth with sound, touch, form, taste and odour as its characteristic properties. From these five mahâbhûta-s evolve other modifications such as cow, jar, tree, etc. (Virupakshananda S. 2016; pp. 65, 11). This completes the creation process according to Sâmkhya philosophy.

Hence according to the Sâmkhyan cosmology, keeping the Purusa aside, we have 24 cosmic principles. From Prakriti downwards, we have mahat, ahamkâra, five jñânendriya-s, five karmendriya-s, manas, five tanmâtra-s and five mahâbhûta-s. This scheme of the Sâmkhyan cosmology was by and large acceptable for the Vedântins. With some changes, they have adapted it for the vyâvahârika or practical purposes (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; p. 232). After discussion about the eternity of the Self, Tattvabodha says about the perishableness of the non-Self. Tattvabodha now introduces the cosmic creation— athacaturvimsatitattvotpattiprakâramvakcyâmah (Tattvabodha25): Now we shall discuss the method of the birth of the twenty four cosmic principles. According to Advaitins, mâyâ is not an evolute of creation. It is causeless and so has no beginning. But it is not eternal. It is annihilated by Self-knowledge (Goswami 2015; p. 55). Unlike Advaitins, Sâmkhyans accept the eternity of mûlaprakriti. It is said in 36thsloka of sa-

124 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 darsanasamuccaya by Haribhadrasûri—

etecâmyâsâmyâvasthâsâPrakrtihkilocyate/ pradhânâvyaktaúabdâbhyâmvâcyânityasvarûpikâ//

According to Vedânta, mâyâ or ignorance has two qualities: it covers the Truth and projects the universe. From casual to gross, the projection needs a material and some intelligence. Both are God Himself. Brahman + mâyâ = Îsvara (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 239-240, 233). The first product of Îsvara is space. According to Tattvabodha, there is something that has Brahman as the support, called mâyâ or ignorance. Mâyâ consists of sattva, rajas and tamas. From mâyâ space is born; form space comes air; form air comes fire; form fire come the waters; form the waters comes the earth. These five elements are the fundamental or basic elements called five tanmâtra-s such as sabdatanmâtra, sparsatanmâtra, rspatanmâtra, rasatanmâtra and gandhatanmâtra respectively. These five fundamental elements are not seen or experienced. As mâyâ consists of three qualities, its products too will naturally have these three qualities. Of these three by the sâttvika portion of the five basic elements the sense organs such as the ear, the skin, the eye, the tongue and the nose are created, each one contributing to its respective sense. Space is related to sound, so from space comes the sense of hearing. Air is related to touch. So the sense of touch has come from air. The sense of form has come from fire. The sense of taste has come from water. And the sense of smell has come from earth (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 236, 243-244). These sense organs are in the subtle body and not in the gross body. The gross sense organs are just apertures. The sense organs bring information about the outer world constantly. The mind receives the message and passes on the message to the intellect. The intellect, in its turn, has to refer to past experience to confirm what the thing it is experiencing now is. So it needs the memory faculty. Finally, someone should be there who is the agent of knowledge. That is the ego. So these four—manas, buddhi, citta and ahamkâra—are to be there. According to Tattvabodha, with the combined sattva quality of all these five basic elements the inner instruments such as the mind, intellect, ego and memory are born (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 244-246). When a person cannot determine whether a particular object is this or that or when he cannot determine whether he will perform a particular action or not, then the manas is said to function (Nikhilananda S. 1978). The intellect is the decisive faculty. The ego is the creator of the sense of “I”. The memory is that which makes us cogitate (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; p. 248). Of these five fundamental elements, form the rajas of space the organ of speech is born. From the rajas of air the hands are born. From the rajas of fire the feet are born. From the rajas of water the organ of enjoyment is born. From the rajas of earth, the organ of evacuation is born. Of the rajas of all these five fundamental elements together, the five prâna-s are born (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 251-252, 255). Form the inertia (tamas) portion of these five fundamental elements the fivefold multiplied (pañcîk ta) five elements come into being. How pañcîkarana takes place? The tamas component of each of the five tanmâtra-s is divided into two halves. One half is kept aside. The other half is further divided into four parts. Each one of the four parts is put into the half of the other four elements. Then the pañcîkarana process is complete. Thus, we have the five gross elements—space, air, fire, water and earth. These gross elements are called the five mahâbhûta- s or great elements. These five gross elements are what we see or experience. So the becoming of the gross form subtle involves pañcîkarana. These fivefold multiplied gross physical elements give birth to the physical body and thus the union of the microcosmic and macrocosmic bodies takes place (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 258-260).

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‘These five fundamental elements go to form the individual (vyacmi) subtle bodies. From the five subtle elements we have the 19 constituents of the individual subtle body. These 19 are: intellect, mind, memory, ego, five sense organs, five organs of action, and five life-forces. The collective form (samacmi) of all individual subtle bodies put together is called the cosmic subtle body or Hiranyagarbha…the individual is only a miniscule part of the cosmic whole. Since Hiranyagarbha is the collection of subtle bodies, and has collective intelligence, He is called cosmic Intelligence or cosmic mahat. So Hiranyagarbha is the subtle cosmic universe and the source of the gross physical universe.’ (Sunirmalananda S. 2015; pp. 240-241, 231).

Conclusion

Sâmkhyans are very strong opponents. Their arguments are refuted by Samkarâcârya mainly in Sârîrakamîmâmsâbhâcya on Brahmasûtra. Sâmkhya is the oldest philosophy in India. Sâmkhya philosophy was discovered by Kapila who is known as âdividvân (Bhattacharya 2006). Many manuscripts and theories of Sâmkhya philosophy are lost in course of time. But from books available on Sâmkhya philosophy, mention about Sâmkhya in the Sruti, Smrti, Purâna, etc., and arguments of Sâmkhyans as pûrvapakcin-s, we find many theories of Sâmkhya philosophy. Among many theories of Sâmkhya philosophy pañcavimsatitattva- s are the most important ones. Excepting Purusa, for the rest 24 tattva-s Advaita-vedânta is indebted to Sâmkhya philosophy.

References

Bhattacharya A. (2006): “Âcârya-parikramâ”, Bhattacharya A (ed) BhâratîyaDarúanerRûprekhâ, 2ndedn. Sanskrit Book Depot, Kolkata, p. 200

Chidghanananda Swami (ed) (2017): “SivâvatârSamkarâcâryerGranthamâlâ”, Digital edn. Basumati Corporation Limited, Kolkata, Vol. III, pp. 5-7

Goswami S. (2015): “Cardinal Doctrines of AdvaitaVedânta”,Goswami S (ed) Lectures on AdvaitaVedânta, The Dacca Students’ Library, Kolkata, pp. 41, 55, 61, 63

Jain M.K. (ed) (1997): “Sad-darúana-samuccaya of ÂcâryaHaribhadraSûri, with the Tarka-rahasya-dîpikâ: commentary and Laghuvitti and an Avacûrni”, 4thedn. BharatiyaJnanpith Publication, New Delhi, p. 145

Nikhilananda Swami (ed) (1978): “Vedântasâra or the Essence of Vedânta of SadânandaYogîndra”, 7th impression,AdvaitaAshrama, Calcutta, p. 46

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “Twentyfour Cosmic Principle”, Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta—Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, pp. 231-233

126 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “Mâyâ or the Statement of Fact”,Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta—Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, pp. 234-236, 239-241

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “Creation of Individual Subtle Body”,Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta—Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, pp. 243-246

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “The Mind, Intellect, etc,”, Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta— Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, p. 248

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “The Organs of Action”, Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta— Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, pp. 251-252

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015): “The Life Forces (Prânas)”,Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta—Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, p. 255

Sunirmalananda Swami (2015):”Pañcîkarana”, Sunirmalananda Swami (ed) Insights into Vedanta— Tattvabodha, 5th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, pp. 258-260

Virupakshananda Swami (ed) (2016):”SâmkhyaKârikâ of ÎsvaraKcna with the TattvaKaumudî of Srî Vâcaspati Misra”, 6th print. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, pp. 10-11, 63-75, 78-81

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*

(Temple Ecology) Temple Ecology

[ ]

‘Mandovara’ ‘Mandovara’ ‘Jagmohan’ ‘Mandovara’

* Email: [email protected] Received: 17 September 2017 / Accepted: 12 October 2017

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[ ]

‘Mandovara’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’

‘Mandovara’

Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’ (hypothetically assump- tion) ‘Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’ -

‘Sikhara’

‘Mandovara’ [ ] 129 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554

‘Mandovara’ (kuta) (relief panel sculpture)

‘relif panel’

(hypothetically assumption) ‘mezzo-rilievo’

[ ]

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[ ]

(semicircular niche) (entrance doorway) ‘entrance gateway’ (pattern of arch) ‘Pointed Multifoil Triple Arch’ -

.‘Pointed Multifoil Triple Arch’ [ ] 131 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 ‘Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’ ‘Mandovara’ ‘Mandovara’ ‘Sikhara’ (square structure over flat roof) ‘Jali pattern window with pointed multifoil arch’ ‘Sekhari’ ‘Sekhari’ (central Latina spire) ‘Madhyalata, Pratiratha & Karnaratha’ (miniature tower or Latina Aedicule) ‘Madhyalata’ Latina Aedicule

Latina Aedicule ‘component’ (Jharokha i.e. overhanging enclosed balcony) ‘Rajput Architecture’ & ‘Indo-Islamic Architecture’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Latina Aedicule’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Dentil’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Sikhara’ ‘Mastaka’ ‘Mastaka’

‘Mastaka’ ‘Mastaka’

‘Sekhari’

Pointed Multifoil Triple Arch’

132 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 ‘semicircular niche’, ‘Jali pattern window with pointed multifoil arch’

Bagchi, A. (2015): “Revisiting the Art and Architecture of the Siva Temples of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in North Bengal and Beyond” In Omnibus of North Bengal (Volume II), edited by Anita Bagchi, Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation, 2015

(May 15, 2016)

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134 CONSCIENTIA Vol-V November 2017 ISSN : 2278 - 6554 The production of paddy was 52 million tonnes in 2001 compared to 41 tonnes in 1993 (Table 3). Production rose from 6800 light and medium vehicles in 1978-88 to more than 10,000 a year by 1998-99 (Figure 1).

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