APPLICATION OF A BITUMEN-COATED JUTE GEOTEXTILE IN BANK-PROTECTION-WORKS IN THE HOOGHLY ESTUARY

Synthetic geotextiles have already been widely used in bank-protection works but are too costly to be used on a larger scale in developing countries. That is why an indigenous jute geotextile, comparatively much cheaper and easily available, has been substituted in bank-protection works on the Hooghly estuary in the state of West Bengal, India. This estuary is plagued by eroding banks of submerged sand flats and numerous unstable islands, one of which is Nayachara Island. The western face of this island has been undergoing severe erosion, leading to deterioration of the navigable channel that leads to the port of Haldia.