The monsoon rains bring a respite from the scorching summer heat and promise of a good harvest, but it also brings perils of inundation that disrupt life and livelihoods. This monsoon season, 47 people have reportedly died in Bijnor district due to flooding. In addition, it was estimated that 4548 hectares of land were affected in 200 villages in the Tehsils Sadar Bijnor, Najibabad, Chandpur Tehsil and Dhampur, and the Pauri-Meerut National highway and the Bijnor-Hastinapur State highway were submerged under floodwater. Farmers are deeply dismayed at the massive loss of crops such as sugarcane and paddy. According to the Cane Officer of Dhampur Sugar Mill, 20 per cent (9,200 hectares) of the total area of the Mill’s supply zone was affected, which caused a loss of around 55 thousand quintals of sugarcane. 

Bijnor lies at the foothills of Uttarakhand. The elevation of Bijnor district ranges from 190m from the sea level in the South to 410m in the Northern part of the district bordering Uttarakhand (Map 1). From there it rises dramatically to much higher elevations in the North and East falling in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. Rivers Ganga and Ramganga originate in Uttarakhand and flow through the district, along with their tributaries namely Malan and Kho. Ramganga merges with river Ganga in Kannauj district, Uttar Pradesh. 

As per India Meteorological Department, the actual rainfall recorded for June to September 2025 was 1308.3mm while the normal rainfall for the same period is 904.5mm. In the last two and half decades, Bijnor has experienced floods every year in different parts of the district in various river basins, especially whenever the rainfall has crossed 1000mm. Heavy rains in the hills also discharge large volumes of water rushing into the plains of Bijnor causing flooding even when the local rainfall is not very high. 

In the month of August 2025, Dhampur also experienced floods in the wake of heavy monsoon rains. The water level in the Kho River rose beyond its danger point, breached its embankments, overflowed onto the agricultural plains, and reached Dhampur town through culverts of the Haridwar-Kashipur highway and then through Ikkra Nala. Since the Nala is directly connected to many parts of Dhampur through the network of drains, it overflowed and inundated several parts of the town. The frequent flooding in Dhampur is also due to the blockages in the Ikkra Nala and drains caused by the indiscriminate dumping of plastics, kullhars, and other non-decomposable waste, reflecting both peoples’ irresponsible behaviour and inadequate waste management practices followed by the local government.

River Kho, a tributary of Ramganga River passes at a distance of less than 2km to Dhampur town. Ikkra River commonly called Ikkra Nala (see Map 2) originates from a pond in the North of the town and merges into Preshak Canal at a distance of 5 km East to Dhampur. Day by day the width of Ikkra River is reducing and shaping it more into a Nala form because of illegal encroachments on both sides. As a result, flooding in the upstream river system causes flooding in Ikkra Nala affecting Dhampur town and the surrounding rural areas.

Over a century ago, the core part of Dhampur town was sensibly built on relatively higher ground at an elevation of 236-244 meters from the sea level. But with the increasing population of the town, the municipal area expanded outwards which lay slightly at a lower elevation of 230-236 meters. As a result, low lying colonies located at the periphery of Dhampur town got flooded, which are: Station Road and Kshatriya colony in the west; KM College area in the North-West: area around Nagina Road and Puran Dhampur in the North; area around RSM Degree College and Kalagarh Road and Teachers Colony in the North-East; State Bank Colony in the South-East of the town: and St. Mary School Road in the East of the town. In addition, some of the surrounding rural areas were also flooded, which included the New Sabzi Mandi located on Nehtaur Road in the West of the town and parts of Shekhpur Bhawara and Tarkolimadan villages in the North (Map 2).

The flood in Dhampur town severely affected the daily life of the people. Houses, hospitals, schools, colleges, warehouses and showrooms were left with three to four feet of water in their basements. Furniture, electronic goods, vehicles and other belongings of the families living in lower elevation areas were damaged. Traders in New Sabji Mandi retrieved some of their goods to sell on carts on the highway. But they incurred huge losses due to the decaying of much of their stocks. The flood affected citizens also had to deal with the after effects of the flood for a much longer time including water logging, dampness in the walls with foul smell, and water collected in small pools that have become breeding grounds of mosquitos. To mitigate the hardships caused by the flood, the Dhampur Nagar Palika Parishad (NPP) took several adaptive measures to support the affected people. They asked the citizens residing in shabby buildings to move to temporary shelter homes. The Parishad also provided food to those flooded households that were not able to cook their meals. 

Although the Indian Meteorological Department gives an early flood warning, the mitigation measures adopted by the Irrigation Department are inadequate. The government has been spending crores on strengthening the embankments of the rivers with stones, wood and sandbags to curb erosion of river banks and manage floods, but these are in poor state of maintenance and are at times damaged or washed away during the heavy flow of flood waters, as has been stated by some of the villagers. However, these are stopgap crisis response actions. It is also apparent that structural measures alone are insufficient to manage floods. It requires a better understanding of the broader issues pertaining to climate change, altered rainfall patterns, and significant reduction of green areas and water bodies that act as sponges for retaining excess rainfall in the district and surrounding areas. 

In addition, unplanned real estate development at the periphery of cities, with no local government control and building regulation, and a complete absence of environmental assessment of the physical terrain, elevation, and location in the flood plains or on the natural drainage channels that allow water runoff during the monsoon season, are common phenomena across the country, irrespective of their geographical setting or city size. This is partly true in the case of Dhampur as well as is evident in Map 2 that the periphery of the town is more flooded than the core of the town.

To sum up, Dhampur and its surrounding region has to be more aware of the impacts of climate change on the rainfall pattern and build its resilience by taking appropriate mitigation measures. In addition, the Dhampur NPP has to take necessary action to manage local level causes of flooding, including removing encroachments along the Ikkra Nala and restoring its natural width. Equally important is the need to expand and upgrade the town’s drainage system keeping in mind the increasing population growth of the town.