Message

Ram Gopal Mohley
Mayor,Varanasi Nagar Nigam

MessageProf. Girish Chandra Tripathi
Vice Chancellor
Banaras Hindu University

MessageProf. Shigeo Fujii
Dean, GSGES, Kyoto University

View of Dashashwamedh Ghat with sewage pumping station

Manikarnika Ghat, the cremation Ghat of Varanasi

Preface

Cities are increasingly playing a leading role in the world economy as centers of both production
and consumption. At presnet there are approximatly 400 million plus cities across the world witha majority of them in the developing world. Varanasi city is one of them. Varanasi is one of theoldest living cities in the world and has evolved organically with time to become an importantcenter of art and education. Located on the banks of river Ganges, Varanasi has been witness toflooding issues in the past. The organic growth has lead to uneven distribution of service acrossthe city. The high urbanization trends in the recnt times coupled with ad-hoc planning and rise infrequency of climate related disasters calls for a systematic approach to tackle the future climatic
hazard risks.
This study is an attempt to provide base information for building city’s resilience by identifying
the root cause of vulnerabilites with a multi stakeholder approach. The study is based onquestionnaire surveys at city, zone and ward level covering the five resilience-based dimensions(Physical, Social, Economic, Institutional and Natural) in which every dimension has five linked
parameters. These five parameters are again connected to five sets of variables. All 125 variables
are used to assess the city’s resilience using weighted mean scores for variables, parametersand dimensions. The results of the study can be used in developing policies and future planning
startegies for Varanasi. Kyoto University along with other partners had conducted a city level
survey in 2011. The changes for 2011 and 2015 at city level are also presented.
We are happy to present the analysis of the Varanasi City for five zones and 90 wards conductedin close cooperation with the Varanasi Nagar Nigam. We express our sincere appreciation to
the Hon. Mayor of Varanasi Nagar Nigam, Hon. Commissioner, Varanasi Nagar Nigam and his
office, who were instrumental in conducting the study. We are thankful to Prof. Girish Chandra
Tripathi, Vice Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University and Prof. Shigeo Fuji, Dean, Graduate Schoolof Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University for their support through out the period ofstudy.
This publication is the result of the first collaborative academic research between Kyoto
University and Banaras Hindu University under the Kyoto Varanasi Partnership. Although, thisis a modest initiative but one the first one to have a holistic approach in identifying the priority
areas of action for strengthening Varanasi city’s resilience to climate related disasters.

Rajib Shaw

Akhilesh S. Raghubanshi

Professor

Director

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies

Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development

Kyoto University

Banaras Hindu University

Introduction
The cities across the world are increasingly getting more exposed to frequent and severe natural
hazards and climate change risk (IPCC, 2012). These risks get amplified due to lack of adequate
infrastructure, overcrowding, unsafe housing, poor health and inept basic services. Realizingthat urban resilience goes beyond measuring city’s vulnerability to disaster, a comprehensive
tool which measure urban resilience factoring in responsive capacities of the communities andinstitutions will be crucial for making cities resilient to climate related disasters. The Climate
Disaster Risk Index (CDRI) is a planning tool, which addresses the vulnerable parts of the city’sfunctional system, and its responsive capacity to cope with a potential disaster to strengthen thecity’s resilience (Joerin and Shaw, 2011).
The city of Varanasi is known for being a hotspot of heritage, education and biodiversity. The
city has evolved over the years organically along the bank of river Ganges. The city has been
known by various names, which includes Kashi, Kasi, Varanasi, Banares and Banaras. Varanasi,
which literally means land between river Varuna and Assi although in recent times the city, has
expanded beyond this limit. The population growth coupled with migration, increase in frequencyof natural hazards has been adding pressure to the existing city infrastructure. Varanasi city is
divided into five administrative zones namely, Adampur Bhelupur, Dashashwamedh, Kotwali
and Trans Varuna. These five zones are further divided into 90 electoral wards. The overallmanagement and service delivery lies with the City government (Varanasi Nigar Nigam).

Climate Disaster Resilient Index
Since disaster resilience is a function of a diverse set of indicators, CDRI measures climate
disaster resilience by considering five dimensions: physical, social, economic, institutional,
and natural. Each dimension has five parameters (see Table 1) and each parameter in turn has
five variables. Therefore, all in all, the CDRI questionnaire has 125 questions. At the end of eachparameter and dimension, survey respondents are requested to assign weights to the variables
and parameters in order to reflect the priorities of the cities and the relevance of the indicators
to the local situation. Using data collected from the questionnaire surveys, we used Weighted
Mean Index (WMI) method and Aggregate Weighted Mean Index (AWMI) to compute the scoresfor each parameter and dimension, respectively. The CDRI of the city is the simple average ofthe indexes of the five dimensions. The index value ranges from 1 to 5. Higher CDRI values areequivalent to higher preparedness to cope with climate change and disasters. Needless to say,these results are not absolute values, but serve mainly as broad policy guidance. The quality of
the results is very much dependent on the quality of the input data from the survey respondents.
Based on the results, the strengths and weaknesses of the cities in each of the five dimensions
are highlighted. Then policy points and recommendations are suggested to provide
encouragement of city governments’ engagements in specific institution and capacity building.
Not only are outputs from this study useful for city governments, but they also provide valuableknowledge and information to other local and national stakeholders having a similar target: theenhancement of community resilience. Graphs are provided to help in visualizing the analysis
results and to facilitate comparison between dimensions and between cities. One graph shows
the city’s overall resilience and five other graphs demonstrate the city’s resilience in terms of thephysical, social, economic, institutional, and natural aspects.

1Methodology
In this study, CDRI is used to evaluate the current level of climate disaster resilience of the
Varanasi city and its five zones and 90 wards. The survey respondents were department heads,
zonal officers and other officers of the Varanasi Nagar Nigam in charge of various services in thecity. Varanasi Nagar Nigam facilitated the distribution of the questionnaire for the survey. Table 1
explains various dimensions, parameters and variables of CDRI used in the study.

Table 1: Dimensions, Parameters and Variables of CDRI

2

Key findings
Varanasi, like most of other cities, has spatial variation of its resilience score. The city has its
strength in social capital, household assets, education and awareness, water supply system
and institutional collaboration. These collectively can enhance city’s physical, social, economic
and institutional resilience. Even at the zone level, social capital becomes an asset for all thezones, on which the community preparedness activities and social resilience can be built on.
Water supply in most zones as well as in the city level is another strength, on which the physicalresilience can be built on. Household assets are relatively higher in most zones, and people
have relatively higher level of education and awareness.
The city needs to take specific actions on the following issues, which can be divided into three
aspects under the GET [Governance Education Technology] framework.
Governance: The city needs to improve its governance capacity on disaster risk reduction.
There needs to be a specific unit or department for disaster risk reduction, at the city andzone level with appropriate personnel and budget provisions. The personnel needs training
and capacity building and will require basic understanding on risk reduction approaches,
tools and policies. One of the key urgent issues is to put specific budget for disaster risk
reduction, and enable the responsible department [s] to take decisive actions in a positiveway.
Education: Knowledge dissemination is one of the key emphasis areas, which needs to be
improved. The city usually faces small-scale frequent disasters. To cope with these types ofdisasters, redundancy of the system is of utmost importance. To enhance redundancy, it
is important to share the knowledge and experiences widely across the city and conduct
regular emergency drills. This information sharing can also be done using social media andother smart media appropriately. Involving and monitoring youth group to participate ininnovative risk reduction activities is considered to be important.
Technology: A few immediate focus areas would be: improvement of road conditions, better
sanitation and solid waste management system, and health facilities. Road conditions
need not only physical improvements, but to introduce a proper traffic management
system. Varanasi city has relatively lower ratio of length of road compared to its area andpopulation. This may be difficult to improve drastically, but a better management system
can be put into practice. Sanitation and solid waste management are well known challenges
in the city and different zones, which need technical improvements, as well as policy andsystem improvements. The city also lacks good health facilities, and is not well equipped
to tackle the regular small-scale disasters and health related issues like water, vector borne
diseases or health problems due to heat waves.

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The zone analysis suggests zone specific approaches and priorities. Comparative analysis of fivezones indicates highest resilience for Admapur Zone, and lowest resilience for Dashashwamedhzone. The zone analysis provides two specific patterns:
In Bhelupur and Trans Varuna Zones, sanitation and solid waste management is
the key issue, which needs urgent attention. There is very little segregation of solid
waste at the source of generation, and most of the solid waste goes untreated before
dumping. Sanitation infrastructures need to be improved properly. The other key issue
is environmental policy implementation. Lack of appropriate environmental policy has
different impacts, which are linked to land use change, lack of green spaces etc. Theseissues need to be improved on urgent basis. These two zones have strength in social
capital as well as water supply system, which needs to be sustained over time.
In case of Dashashwamedh, Adampur and Kotwali Zones, the key strength lies in health,water and social capital. Relatively better health system, less interruption in water supply
system and strong social bonding will increase the physical as well as social resilienceof these communities. However, the zones need improvements in good governanceand budget related issues. All these three zones have no budget provisions for disasterrisk reduction, and therefore, specific activities are rather limited. Lack of appropriate
governance system is also linked to non-implementation of policy as well as limited numberof trained personnel at both city and zone level.

In summary, the issues, which need to be developed, are:Governance capacity, allocation of budget and personnel
Social media and smart media system to share lessons and learning
Better technology for sanitation, solid waste management, road & traffic management andhealth system

The issues, which need to be sustained, are:Social capital and community cohesion and relationship
Water supply system
Household assets

Based on this analysis, an action plan comprising of short, medium and long-term priorities
needs to be developed for the city as well as the zones. The plan needs to be updated and theprogress of its implementation needs to be monitored, keeping in mind that city resilience is a
dynamic factor, which changes over time.

4Physical Resilienceof Varanasi
The Physical Resilience of Varanasi is measured in terms of its electricity,water, sanitation and solid waste disposal, road conditions and housing andland use planning. The study suggests that out of the five zones the highest
physical resilience is of Adampur zone and the lowest is of Dashashwamedhzone. In terms of parameters, water supply has the highest resilience whereas accessibility of roads has the lowest resilience at the city level. The average
CDRI score of the five parameters suggest sanitation and solid waste disposal
has the lowest CDRI score. This variation can be attributed to the ground level
implementation gaps. Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL)
meets 51 to 75% of Varanasi’s electricity demand through a centralized system.
The study shows 51 to 75 % of the households have legal access to electricity
for an average of 9 to 15 hours per day. In case of a disaster, the city’s supply
has less than 10% dependency on external sources to run emergency
services. At the zone level Dashashwamedh and Bhelupur zones show a lower
resilience for electricity services parameter in comparison to the other zones
due to lesser households having access to electricity services and longer
periods of power interruptions. In Varanasi, 26 to 50% of the electricity demandis meet by alternative arrangements such as generator and invertors.
Varanasi Jal Sansthan meets 51 to 75% of the city’s water supply demandthrough a centralized water supply system. On an average, 51 to 75 % of thecity dweller has access to potable water supply for 6 to 10 hours per day. At
zone level, Dashashwamedh and Bhelupur zones show a lower resilience
for the water service as these zones have availability of water for shorter
periods (3 to 5 hours per day) in comparison to other zones. As an alternative
arrangement, overhead tank are used for storing water in most of thehouseholds across the city.
In Varanasi, 51 to 75 % of the population has hygienic access to sanitation.
Further, 76 to 100 % of the city’s solid waste gets collected everyday but 100%of it goes untreated before dumping and only 11 to 25 % of it is recycled. At thezone level, Dashashwamedh zone has the lowest resilience for the sanitationand solid waste disposal parameter as only up to 50% of the solid waste
generated is collected the same day.
Varanasi has road network on 11 to 15% of its land and less than 50% of thecity is accessible by paved roads. In addition to this, organic city growth, lowawareness level of the citizens and non-functional traffic signals has added tothe traffic woes of Varanasi. Incase of severe flooding only 16 to 30% of thecity’s roads remain accessible. The study shows a need for bettering the road
network and conditions across all the zones.
Varanasi’s 90% of the buildings are permanent structures but only a few ofthem conform to the building codes. In addition to this less than 50% of thehouses in the city are built with plinth level higher than normal flood level.
Further, less than 12.4% of the total population lives in close proximity topolluted industries or dumping ground but Adampur zone is an exception
where more than 50% of the population lives in close proximity to suchhazardous locations. Among the five zones, Dashashwamedh zone has theleast resilience in this parameter owing to its high number of non-permanent
structures.

5Social Resilienceof Varanasi
Varanasi has strong social capital, education and awareness andcommunity cohesion and preparedness as a result has highest
resilience in the social dimension among other dimensions. Amongthe zones, Bhelupur has the highest while Trans Varuna has the lowest
social resilience. The parameter considered to measure the social
dimensions are population, health, education and awareness, social
capital and social cohesion and community preparedness. The social
capital has the highest resilience and population has the lowest
resilience at the city level. This is due to higher level of participationof the communities in community activities and ability to build
consensus and deliver shared interests. While the overall population
density in Varanasi is 14,605 people per square kilometer but certain
pockets especially the ones containing older parts of Varanasi has very
high population density in of range of 30,000 to 48,000 persons per
square kilometer. The city has more than 50% its population living inslum areas or informal settlement, which puts additional pressure on
the services of the city government.
The zonal average suggests health is most resilient parameter
while social cohesion and community preparedness is the least. The
variation in health is due to the fact that the present health service
though is apparently effective in managing small-scale disasters
at zonal level but will need strengthening to handle complex largescale future disasters. The health service in Varanasi managed by the
district health department is accessed by 76 to 90% of the citizens. The
water borne and vector- borne diseases impact less than 11% of the
population in a year but such cases increases in certain pockets during
flooding but in such times effectiveness of the health services gets
reduced.
The communities are not well prepared for disasters though there had
been severe flooding incidences in the past. Further, at the zone level
it is seen that most of the evacuation process is not voluntary. The
NGOs and CBOs collaborate with the city government during disasters
but such collaborations do not exist at the zonal level. The zonal data
reveals that communities in the zones that have faced disasters in thepast are better prepared.
The social capital varies across the zones with Adampur having thehighest and Dashashwamedh lowest score due to variation in the levelof democracy, community participation and consensus building.
The city has strong resilience in the education and awarenessparameter with higher overall literacy rate than the national average(74.04 %) and majority of the population have access to Internet. The
city government conducts awareness programmes and disaster drills
more than once in a year but communities have poor awareness andunderstanding of city’s disaster threats. At the zone level training
programmes are seldom conducted resulting in a variation in theresilience. The schools functions as evacuation and relief shelters in
the city.

6

Economic Resilienceof Varanasi
The Economic Resilience of Varanasi has the lowest resilience among the fivedimensions and is measured by considering five parameters namely income
levels, employment, house assets, finance and savings and budget andsubsidy. At the city level the resilience is highest for the household assets while
it is lowest for budgets and subsidies. The average of resilience of the fivezones suggests resilience is highest for income while the lowest is for financeand saving.This is be due to the fact that, at the city level there is no dedicatedbudget available for disaster management but at the zone level other budget
heads are utilized for carrying out disaster management related work. Further,at the city level the credit facilities are available but the lower resilience scoreat the zone level suggests that such facilities are not commonly sought fordisaster management related works.The variation in income parameter at cityand zone level suggests higher income disparities between the lowest andhighest income levels. Among the five zones, Adampur has the highest score
while Kotwali has the lowest score in economic resilience.
A considerable number of people (15 to 24%) in Varanasi live below thepoverty line. In addition to this at the city level, more than 25 % of the youth
are unemployed in the formal sector and almost 20 to 39 % of the employees
in the formal sector are from outside the city as a result brings down theincome level of the city. Individual households are particularly less resilient as
dependency on a single source of income is high (75-99%). The percentage ofwomen employed in formal sector is low, ranging between 21 to 35% of total
employed population in formal sector. Adampur, Dashashwamedh and Trans
Varuna have the highest income level, which is due to a developed tourism
sector and commercial activities in these zones.
The household assets in the city have the highest resilience with majority of
the households having access to television and mobile phones, which can beused for issuing early warnings and conducting awareness generation drives.
More than 61% of the population in Varanasi owns a motorized vehicle which
one way strengthens the city’s economic resilience but impacts the physicalresilience inversely due to rise in traffic congestions and air pollution levels.
The financing and saving has a lower score at the city level due to limited
availability of credit facilities to prevent or mitigate disasters. Further the
study suggests that capacity of the existing credit facilities get reduced in theaftermath of a disaster. Overall in Varanasi people have a habit of saving but
such practice varies across the zones from less than 10% in Adampur andTrans Varuna to more than 50% in Dashashwamedh zone. Further, Varanasi
has less than 10% of its household under at least one insurance scheme,
which are either life insurance or health insurance schemes that do not covercatastrophic disaster risks.
The city government has no budget head or subsidies for managing
disaster risk at present. The city is dependent on the State or theDistrict funds for disaster management related works. Limited funds
are available for the health services specially for buying medicines
during the monsoon season to control water borne and vector borne
diseases.

7

Institutional Resilienceof Varanasi
The Institutional Resilience of Varanasi is measured in terms of
mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reducation (DRR) and Climate
Change Adaptation (CCA), effectiveness of city’s crisis management
framework, effectiveness of city’s institutions to respond to a disaster,
institutional collaboration with other organisations and stakeholders
and good governance. At the city level, the highest score among
these five parameters is that of institutional collaboration andgood governance while the lowest score is that of mainstreaming
Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Community Based
Organizations (CBO). While the average of zonal resilience suggest
institutional collaboration as the highest and knowledge dissemination
as the lowest. Among the zones, Kotwali has the highest institutional
resilience while Dashashwamedh has the lowest.
At the city level the mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction has
obtained the least resilience score, as disaster risk reduction is not
integrated into land use, housing, transportation, environmental plansand policies. Both at the city and zonal level disaster management
plans do not exist. Further, at present disaster education is not part ofthe school curriculum.
The crisis management framework is not very effective at the citylevel due to lack of emergency teams and poor incorporation of
uncertainties of climate change in disaster management plan. At zone
level, lack of evacuation centers is a major challenge considering thehigh population density of the city.
The knowledge dissemination and management needs to bestrengthened with frequent training and awareness programs at thecity, zone and ward levels. Along with this, it is necessary to transformthe learning form the past disasters into effective planning and policy
decisions to mitigate future disasters.
The institutional collaboration is high at the city as well as zonal
level. The city is slightly dependent on the other sources for support
during disasters especially on the district authorities. While the zonal
authority rely heavily on the city services and the neighbouringzones for support during disasters. The city government has strong
collaborations with private organizations but has limited collaboration
with the non governmental organizations and community basedorganizations. Varanasi has strong good governance parameter at
the city level with effective implementation of building codes andenforcement of disaster risk management. However, the city lacks anefficient early warning system to timely warn the communities before
disasters. City level disaster drills are conducted more than twice ayear with the fire brigade department of the State government but
such drills seldom involve the zonal officers or communities.

8Natural Resilienceof Varanasi
Varanasi is prone to climate related natural hazards like flooding, heat wave,
cold wave and water scarcity.The Resilience to Natural Conditions is measured
in terms of intensity and frequency of natural hazards, ecosystem services,land use and environmental policies. Both at the city and zone level, lower
intensity and higher frequencies of natural disasters suggest predominanceof localized, less severe disasters for shorter spells. Dashashawmedh zone isan exception to this, which shows exposure to severe climate related natural
hazards mainly riverine and urban floods. Highest concern at the city level istowards the increase in frequency of the natural hazards in the recent years.
At the zone level, environmental policy has the lowest resilience due poor
compliance to waste management, pollution level and issues related to foodsecurity. Dashashwamedh has the lowest resilience and Kotwali has thehighest resilience.
The frequency of natural disaster is moderate except for Dashashawmedh,
Adampur and Bhelupur zones, which face annual flooding incidences of bothriverine and urban types. Although heat and cold waves are annual events but
their impacts are not severe as compared to flooding. The peripheral areas of
the city mainly in Trans Varuna zone face water scarcity in the summer season
due to extensive use of tube wells resulting in lowering of the water table.
The ecosystem services in the city are degrading with poor urban biodiversity
and soil condition and high levels of water contamination inspite of
improvement in waste management policies. Poor mitigation policy of the city
government to reduce air pollution and reduced compliance to environmental
policies is leading to higher levels of air pollution and water contamination.
The interlinked water bodies locally called kunds, which use to act as natural
holding ponds to tackle urban flooding, are slowly depleting in number.
Further, disposal of solid waste in the drains and poor solid waste collection
system, urban flooding is becoming more frequent in certain pockets of
Varanasi.
Almost one fourth of the city is exposed to impact of climate related natural
hazards.Taking into account the high intensity of land use –urban morphology
in Varanasi the urban green spaces are decreasing over the years. At thepresent more than 16% of the total city area comprises of urban green
spaces but at the same time in the last 50 years more than 40% of these havebeen transformed to manage the infrastructure needs. The effect is more
pronounced in densely populated Adampur and Dashashwamedh zones
where the green spaces are reduced to 1 to 5% of the total zonal area. In
contrast to this, newly developed Trans Varuna zone has more than 16% of
the green cover. This reflects on the need to strengthen the environmental
conservation regulations and its implementation in Varanasi.

9Overall Resilienceof Varanasi
The Overall CDRI value of Varanasi is 3.20 with social dimension
having the highest resilience while economic dimension has thelowest resilience. Looking at the various parameters, the highest
resilience is that of social capital, household assets, education andawareness, water services and institutional collaboration. The lowest
resilience is for budget and subsidy, mainstreaming of disasterrisk reduction and climate change adaptation, frequency of natural
hazards, accessibility of roads and environment policy. A relatively
higher CDRI score of intensity and lower score for frequency of natural
hazards suggest Varanasi is more exposed to the risk of low intensity
high frequency disaster events. The lower CDRI scores for budget
and subsidy, environmental policy and mainstreaming of disasterrisk reduction and climate change adaptation points towards a needfor a strong institutional base for disaster management in Varanasi.
The health, roads and sanitation services need to improve forstrengthening physical resilience of the city.
The CDRI score for the zonal average is lower than the CDRI score at
the city level for all dimensions. This shows the importance of microlevel information and zone and city linkages. Further it also signifies
the need to focus on the zonal issues for strengthening overall city’s
resilience.
The average of zonal resilience score suggest physical dimension to
be having the highest resilience and economic conditions have thelowest resilience. The economic resilience at the zone is lower due
to high rates of unemployment, limited financing facilities and lower
savings. The variation in institutional resilience score for the city andzonal average points out towards weak governance at the zone leveland further down.

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11

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Climate Disaster Resilience Index of

Adampur Zone
Introduction
Adampur zone is located in the northeastern part of the city on the banks ofriver Ganges and Varuna. The zone is divided into 20 wards with a population of
249,671 as per 2011 provisional population data. The zone has small- and medium
scale industries, which are involved in sari making, carpet weaving among others.
The zone has mixed land use with a mosaic of the older city and newly developed
pockets. The older part due to organic growth is characterized by narrow streets
while the newly developed pockets have wider roads but encroachment iscommon. Adampur is affected by riverine and urban flooding due its location in
the flood plains of Ganges.

13Adampur has better water, health and electricity services. 81 to 95% of the household in the area
has electricity available for more than 16 hours per day and more than 96% of the household has

Physicalaccess to water for less than 10 hours a day. On an average, 61 to 75% of the population in the zone
has access to sanitation and less than 5% of the solid waste generated is not collected on the sameday. However, almost all the solid goes untreated before dumping and only 10% of the solid waste
is recycled. During floods up to 10% of the solid waste gets collected within 48 hours after the water
recedes. More than 70% of the roads remain accessible during flooding although less than 15% ofthem have covered drains. The zone has less than 10% of the buildings built following the buildings
codes and 51 to 60% of houses are above normal flood level. More than 50% of the population lives
close to polluted industries and dumping sites.
The Adampur zone has very high social capital with more than 41% population participating incommunity activities and acceptability of the community leader in the zone is good. 25 to 37 %of its population lives in slums or informal settlements. The literacy rate is between 75 to 87 %,Socialwhich is higher than the national average. People are affected more by waterborne disease (611%) in comparison to vector borne diseases (0-5%) and only 50 to 75% of the population has
access to primary health care. Public awareness and disaster drills are though done once in ayear but has limited effect. During a disaster, the schools function as relief shelters but only a few
people evacuate voluntarily after a disaster. The communities are poorly prepared to face disasters
and there are very less support from the non governmental organizations and community basedorganizations. The community provides relief materials and shelter incase of disasters to theaffected people.
Adampur zone has less than 11% of its population below poverty line and 50 to 74% of thehousehold has one sources of income with 11 to 20% engaged in informal sector. In case of a

Economicdisaster, 11 to 20% of the households have reduced income levels. Less than 25% of the population
is employed in formal sector and more than 25% of the youth population is unemployed. Most of
the population has access to mobile phones; television and 41 to 50% have motorized vehicles.
Approximately 10% of the population has savings but only less than 10% of the households haveregistered under some insurance schemes. The zone has no dedicated budget head for disastermanagement but channelizes more than 3% of its annual budget from other budget heads fordisaster management and climate change related activities. The zone has limited subsidy for healthcare but lacks subsidies for livelihood and rebuilding houses in the aftermath of a disaster.
The institutional resilience of Adampur is higher than rest of the zones due to its high institutional

Institutional

collaborations. There is an effective crisis management framework and sufficient evacuation
center in the zone but the zone needs to strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction andclimate change adaptation. Further, trainings and disaster drills are not conducted for the disastermanagement team and community. The learning from the past disasters seldom gets reflected inplanning and mitigation strategies of the zone. The zone is dependent on external support of city
head office and district disaster management authority in handling disaster. The zone has strong
networking with neighbouring zones but at the same time there is a need to increase the nongovernmental organization and private organization collaboration. There is no established early
warning mechanism in the zone.
Adampur faces riverine flooding once every year and urban flooding more than once annually. The

Naturalzone experiences cold waves in winter season once every year of medium severity. The zone has
overall poor ecosystem services due to rise in air pollution and water contamination. The built up
area lies between 71 to 90% in the zone with less 1% green cover due to transformation of green
spaces for supporting infrastructure development in the last 50 years. 10 to 25% of the settlements
are in hazardous locations mainly closer to flooding areas. There is a need for better compliance tothe environmental conservation policies and waste management systems in the zone.

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Adampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster.
s Developed housing and land use, water andelectricity services.
s Strong institutional collaboration and educationlevel.

15

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster.
s High-income levels and household assets.
s Good governance and developed health services.

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen Good governance mainstreaming of DRR
and knowledge dissemination.
s Improve road and sanitary conditions of the ward.
s Generate employment and Create budget head for
DRR.
s Revitalize Eco-system and strengthen DRR policy.
s Strengthen social capital and community
preparedness.

s Strengthen education levels and knowledge
dissemination.
s Improve road, sanitary conditions of the ward.
s Generate employment and Create budget head for
DRR.
s Revitalize Eco-system and strengthen DRR policy.
s Strengthen social capital and community
preparedness.

Adampur Zone

Strengthss High-income levels and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters
s Developed health and electricity services

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters
s Developed health, and electricity servicess High-income levels and household assets

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen environmental policy

16Adampur Zone

Strengthss High-income levels and household assets
s High Social capitals Developed health and electricity services

17

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters
s Developed health, and electricity servicess High-income levels and household assets

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen environmental policyAdampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters Developed health and electricity servicess High Social capitals High household assets

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policy

Strengthss High institutional collaborations Low intensity of disasters Presence of employment opportunities.
s High social capitals Developed health services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Improve road conditions in the ward

18

Adampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster.
s Developed health and electricity and water services.
s High Social capitals High household assets.

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen environmental policy

19

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters Developed water and electricity servicess Developed health servicess High household assets
s High education and awareness level

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savingss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policyAdampur Zone

Strengthss High Household assets
s Low intensity of disasters High social capitals Developed health, water and electricity services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Improve road conditions in the ward

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters High household assets
s High social capitals Developed health water and electricity services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen mainstreaming of disaster risk reductions Strengthen environmental policys Improve road conditions in the ward

20

Adampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters High household assets
s High social capitals Developed electricity, water and health services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Improve road conditions in the ward

21

Strengthss High income levels and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters Presence of employment opportunities.
s Good governances Developed health and electricity services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen community preparedness for disasterss Strengthen environmental policyAdampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters High social capitals Developed health, water and electricity services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savings

Strengthss High income and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters Developed health and electricity services
s Good governance

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for disasters

22Adampur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disasters High social capitals Developed health and electricity servicess High household assets

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic condition by supporting
financing and savings

23

Strengthss High income levels
s Low intensity of disasters High social capitals Developed health and electricity services
s Good governance

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for disasterss Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savings

Adampur Zone

Strengthss High income and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters Developed health and electricity services
s Good governance

Strengthss High income and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters Developed health and electricity services
s Good governance

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for disasterss Strengthen knowledge dissemination.
s Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for disasters

24

Climate Disaster Resilience Index ofBhelupur Zone
Introduction
Bhelupur zone is located in the southern part of the city on the banks of river
Ganges. The zone is divided into 19 wards with a population of 281,562 as per2011 provisional population data. The zone has mixed land use and has a mixtureof old city and newly developed pockets. The water supply system for Varanasi
is based out of Bhelupur and serves 50% of the population of the city. Riverine
flooding, Sanitation and Solid waste disposal are serious concerns for the area.
There are few low-lying pockets that raise concern for urban flooding issues
during monsoon season. Sankat Mochan, Durga Kund and Assi Ghat are famous
tourist destinations in this zone. Banaras Hindu University, the largest residential
university in Asia in located in the Bhelupur zone.

25

Economic

In Bhelupur zone, less than 11% population are below poverty line and 50 to 74% of the households
have one sources of income with 11 to 20% of the population engaged in informal sector. Afterdisaster, 11 to 20% of the population have reduced income levels. 13 to 18% of the population is
employed in formal sector and 19 to 24% of the youth population is unemployed. More than 81%
of the population has access to mobile phones, television and 41 to 50% have motorized vehicles.
More than 50% of the population in the zone has savings but only less than 10% of the households
have registered under some insurance schemes. The zone has no budget head for disastermanagement but utilizes 1.1 to 2% of its annual budget from other budget heads for disastermanagement or climate change related works. The zone has limited subsidy for health care butlacks subsidies for livelihood and rebuilding houses in the aftermath of a disaster.

Institutional

PhysicalSocialThe Bhelupur zone has strong social resilience with high social capital with 41% of its population
participating in community activities. The acceptability of the community leader in the zone is good.
On an average, 25 to 37 % of the population live in slums or informal settlements. The literacy
rate is between 50 to 62 %, which is lower than the national average. People are affected equally
by waterborne and vector borne diseases (0-5%) and 90 to 95% of the population has access toprimary health care. Public awareness and disaster drills are done more than once in a year but has
limited effect. During disasters the schools function as relief shelters but only a few people evacuate
voluntarily during a disaster. The communities are ill prepared to face any disaster but provide relief
and shelter incase of disasters to the affected people. The non governmental organizations andcommunity based organizations actively support disaster management activities in the zone.

The zone has the lowest resilience in the institutional parameter due to limited mainstreamingof disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and community participation indevelopment planning. Bhelupur has an effective crisis management framework and sufficientnumbers of evacuation centers. There are no trainings and disaster drills conducted for the disastermanagement team and community in the zone. The learning from the past disasters seldom gets
translated in planning and mitigation strategies of the zone. The zone is self sufficient in handlingdisasters but it has weak network with neighbouring zones. The institutional collaboration with nongovernmental organization and private organization is not established. The zone has no establishedearly warning mechanism.

Natural

In Bhelupur, health, water services and housing and land use planning are its strength. 66 to 80%of the households have to access to electricity for 9 to 12 hours per day and more than 96% of
the households have access to water for less than 10 hours a day. Sanitation is a concern for thezone with an average of 21% of the population having access to sanitation. 66 to 80% of the solid
waste generated is collected on the same day. However, almost all the solid waste goes untreated
before dumping and only 10% of the solid waste is recycled. During floods, 26 to 50% of the solid
waste gets collected within 48 hours after the water recedes. More than 70% of the zone’s roads
remain accessible during flooding though less than 31 to 45% of these have covered drains. Thezone has 21 to 30% of the buildings built following the buildings codes and less than 50% of houses
are above normal flood level. 25 to 37% of the population lives in close proximity to the polluted
industries and dumping sites.

Bhelupur experiences riverine flooding annually and urban flooding more than once in a year of
medium intensity. Incidences of Cold waves are experienced once in year every year of medium
severity. The zone has degrading ecosystem services due to lowering of soil quality, higher air
pollution and water contamination. The zones built up area lies between 71 to 90% with 6-to10%
green cover. In the last 50 years, 21 to 40% of the green cover has been lost. Less than 10% of
the settlements in the zone are in hazardous locations mainly in the flood plains. There is poor
implementation of environmental conservation policies and waste management system. Currently,
there is no mechanism to mitigate and reduce air pollutions levels.

26

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss Effective crisis management frameworks Low intensity of disasters Developed health, water and road servicess Opportunities for employment generations Strong institutional collaboration

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for highfrequency low severity disasters Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savings

27

Strengthss Effective crisis management frameworks Developed road and water servicess Opportunities for employment generations Strong institutional collaboration

Scope for Improving Resiliences Improve sanitation and solid waste disposal servicess Revitalize eco system servicess Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for highfrequency low severity disasters Create budget head for disaster risk reduction

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss High income levels and household assets
s Low intensity of disasters Developed health, electricity and water servicess Strong institutional collaboration

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen land use plannings Strengthen good governances Restructure crisis management framework for better
effectivenesss Strengthen environmental policys Create budget head for disaster risk reduction

Strengthss Strong institutional collaborations Effective crisis management frameworks Low intensity of disasters
s Developed health and water services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen good governances Strengthen environmental policys Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Improve sanitation and solid waste disposal services

28

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELSs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savingss 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low severity disaster

29

Strengthss 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND ROAD SERVICES
s /PPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss High income levelss High social capitals Low intensity of disasters Strong housing and land use plannings Developed health services

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster and low frequency ofdisasterss High income levelss High social capitals Developed electricity and health services

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparednesss Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparedness30

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster and low frequency ofdisasterss Effective crisis management frameworks Developed roads, electricity and health services

31

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster and low frequency ofdisasterss High income levelss High social capitals Developed electricity and health services

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparednesss Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen good governance mechanism

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss High population resiliences Developed health and electricity servicess High Social capitals Low frequency of disasters
s High income levels

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparedness

Strengthss Strong institutional collaborations Developed health and electricity servicess High Social capitals Low intensity and frequency of disasters
s Less land use vulnerable to climate induced disasters

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen community preparednesss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen housing and land use planning32

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster and low frequency ofdisasterss Effective crisis management frameworks Developed roads, electricity and health services

33

Strengthss Low intensity of disaster and low frequency ofdisasterss High income levelss High social capitals Developed electricity and health services

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparednesss Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen good governance mechanism

Bhelupur Zone

Strengthss High population resiliences Developed health and electricity servicess High Social capitals Low frequency of disasters
s High income levelss Scope for Improving Resilience

Strengthss Strong institutional collaborations Developed health and electricity servicess High Social capitals Low intensity and frequency of disasters
s Less land use vulnerable to climate induced disasters

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Strengthen community preparednesss Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen economic resilience by supporting
financing and savingss Strengthen community preparednesss Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen housing and land use planning

34

Bhelupur Zone

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATIONs 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s %FFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings

35

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTERS
s %FFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKs (IGH HOUSEHOLD ASSETSs /PPORTUNITIES FOR GENERATING EMPLOYMENT

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN EDUCATION AND DISASTER AWARENESS LEVELS
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

Bhelupur Zone
Streetscapes of Varanasi

Narrow Streets in the older city of Varanasi

Streets with commercial activities in Dashashwamedh

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND HEALTH SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN EDUCATION AND DISASTER AWARENESS LEVELS
s 3TRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE
Streets in the newly developed pockets in Adampur

36

Climate Disaster Resilience Index ofDashashwamedh Zone
Introduction
Dashashawmedh zone is located in the eastern part of the city on the banks of river
Ganges. The zone is divided into 19 wards with a population of 229,199 as per 2011 provisional
population data. The zone mainly consists of older city of Varanasi with presence of importantpilgrimage areas like Kashi Vishwanath temple, Manikarnika and Dashashawmedh Ghat.
The zone has developed organically with time and has high-density core area with narrowand inorganic street patterns. The areas closer to the Ghats, act as commercial centers with
rampant encroachment by commercial and informal sector on the roads. The main arterial
roads cross this bazar area and cause huge traffic congestions. Riverine flooding, open
defecation and sanitation and solid waste disposal are serious concerns for the area. The area
has faced riverine flooding in 1978, 1984, 2009 and 2013 of which 1978 was the most severe.

3.90

1.13

37

Physical
Economic

The zone has very high income and household assets and has presence of commercial and retailmarkets. In Dashashwamedh, less than 11% of the population are below poverty line and 50 to 74%
of the households have single sources of income with 11 to 20% of the population are engaged
in informal sector. In case of a disaster, 11 to 20% of the households experience reduced income
levels. Less than 25% of the population is employed in formal sector and more than 25% of the
youth population is unemployed. Most of the population has access to mobile phones, televisionand 41 to 50% of them have motorized vehicles. More than 50% of the zonal population has savings
but only less than 10% of the houses are insured under some insurance scheme. The zone has nobudget for disaster management or climate change in particular. There are limited subsidies forhealth care after a disaster but lacks subsidies for livelihood and rebuilding houses in the aftermathof a disaster.

Institutional

The high social resilience of the zone is its strength. The zone has less than 12 % of its population
living in slums or informal settlements. The literacy rate is between 50 to 62.5 %, which is lower
than the national average. People are affected equally by waterborne and vector borne diseases (05%) but incase of floods an increase of 6% in reported cases is noticed. The access to primary healthcare is medium with 50 to 75% of the population having access. Public awareness and disaster drills
are though done once in a year but has limited effect. During any disaster the schools acts as relief
shelters but functionality is poor and only a few people evacuate voluntarily during a disaster. The
level of community participation is high with more than 41% population participating in community
activities and acceptability of the community leader in the zone is medium. The communities arepoorly prepared to face any disaster but have good support of non governmental organizations
and community based Organizations. The community provide limited relief and shelter incase ofdisasters to the affected.

The institutional resilience of Dashashwamedh is the lowest than among the other dimensions due
to poor capacity in the zone to develop development plans with community participation and weakmainstreaming of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and crisis management
framework. The learning from the past disasters seldom gets translated into planning andmitigation strategies of the zone. Considering the zone has severe riverine flooding concerns andhigh population density, the evacuation centers at present are not sufficient. Further, there are no
trainings and drills conducted for disaster management team and community. The zone is heavily
dependent on external support of specially the city authority and district disaster management
authority in handling disasters. The zone has strong networking with neighbouring zones but at thesame time there is a need to increase the non governmental organization and private organization
collaborations. The zone has no established early warning mechanism.

NaturalSocialIn Dashashwamedh zone, 81 to 95% of the households in the area have access to electricity formore than 16 hours per day and more than 96% of the households have access to water forless than 10 hours a day. On an average 61 to 75% of the population in the zone has access tosanitation and up to 50% of the solid waste generated is collected on the same day. In addition tothis, almost all the solid waste goes untreated before dumping and only 10% of the solid waste isrecycled. During floods, only up to 10% of the solid waste gets collected within 48 hours after thewater recedes. More than 70% of the zone’s roads remain accessible during flooding and morethan 60% of these have covered drains. The zone has less than 10% of the buildings built following
the buildings codes and 61 to 70% of houses are above normal flood level. Around 12% of the
population lives close to polluted industries and dumping sites.

Dashashwamedh faces severe riverine flooding and has 10 to 25% of the settlements in hazardous
locations mainly closer to flood plains. The frequency of such severe flooding varies from 5 to 10
years. The zone has low-lying areas, which face urban flooding problems during heavy rainfall.
Heat and Cold waves in summer and winter seasons affect the zone annually. The population
with non permanent shelters are the most vulnerable these events. The zone has overall good
ecosystem services but the soil condition is constantly degrading and increase in air pollution andwater contamination is posing a major challenge to the authority. The zone is densely populatedwith more than 90% as the built up area and only 2 to 5% green cover left. The loss of green coveris in the range of 21 to 40% in the last 50 years. The zone has poor compliance to environmental
conservation policies and waste management systems.

38

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss High social capitals Low intensity of disasters Good governances High education and awareness levels Developed water services

Scope for Improving Resiliences Strengthen knowledge disseminations Strengthen environmental policys Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen and revitalize eco system servicess Strengthen community preparedness for highfrequency low intensity disasters

39

Strengthss High social capitals Low intensity of disasters Good governances High institutional collaborations Developed water services

Scope for Improving Resiliences mprove sanitation and solid waste disposal servicess Strengthen environmental policys Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen and revitalize eco system servicess Strengthen community preparedness for highfrequency low intensity disastersDashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss High social capitals Low intensity of disasters Good governances High household assets
s Developed electricity and water services

Strengthss High Income levelss High social capitals Low intensity of disasters Developed electricity and water services

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences Improve sanitation and solid waste disposal servicess Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen mainstreaming of Disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptations Improve road conditions for the wards Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen and revitalize eco system servicess Strengthen environmental policys Strengthen community preparedness for highfrequency low intensity disasters
s Improve road conditions for the wards Create budget head for disaster risk reductions Strengthen and revitalize eco system servicess Improve sanitation and solid waste disposal services

40

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITALs ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERs (IGH INCOME LEVELSs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings 3TRENGTHEN HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

41

Strengthss (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCEs (IGH )NCOME LEVELSs (IGH SOCIAL CAPITALs ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICES
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONDashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERs (IGH INCOME LEVELSs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and saving

Strengthss (IGH )NCOME LEVELSs (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s (IGH LEVEL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasterss )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptation

42

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s (IGH LEVEL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

43

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTER
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES
s 3TRONG KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM
servicess )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
servicess )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s (IGH HOUSEHOLD ASSETS
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and saving

44

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITALs (IGH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS LEVELS
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s (IGH HOUSEHOLD ASSETS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters

45

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s (IGH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS LEVELS
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD

Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATIONs (IGH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS LEVELS
s 3TRONG KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and saving

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATIONs ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters

46Dashashwamedh Zone

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and saving

47

Strengthss (IGH SOCIAL CAPITAL
s 'OOD GOVERNANCE
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTERS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and saving

Dashashwamedh Zone
Ghats as multi-functional hub of Varanasi

Bathing in the Ghats by locals and tourists

Washing of clothes in the Ghats by washer men

Strengthss 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s (IGH HOUSEHOLD ASSETSs (IGH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS LEVELS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN AND REVITALIZE ECO SYSTEM SERVICESs )MPROVE ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR HIGH
frequency low intensity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM
Ghats are center for religious activities

48

Climate Disaster Resilience Index of

Kotwali Zone
Introduction
Kotwali zone is located in the western part of the city comprising mainly parts of
the older city of Varanasi. The zone is divided into 13 wards with a total populationof 139,146 as per 2011 provisional population data. The zone has mixed land use
with majority of area coming under residential type but has presence of a few
small scale industries. The Kalbhairav temple is an important destination for
religious pilgrimage. Similar to Dashashwamedh zone, Kotwali has high-density
core area with narrow and inorganic street patterns and dilapidated buildings.
The zone has problem of urban flooding during the monsoon season. Traffic
congestion and sanitation and solid waste disposal are concern for the zone.

49Physical
SocialEconomic
Institutional
NaturalThe physical resilience in Kotwali is higher due to developed health, water and electricity and strong
housing and land use planning. More than 96% of the household in the zone area has electricity
available for more than 16 hours per day and water for less than 10 hours a day. More than 81%
of the population in the zone has access to sanitation and 96% of the solid waste generated iscollected on the same day. However, almost all the solid goes untreated before dumping and only
10% of the solid waste is recycled. During floods more than 76% of the solid waste gets collected
within 48 hours after the water recedes. The 70% of the zone’s road remain accessible during
flooding though less than 30% of these have covered drains. The zone has less than 20% of thebuildings built following the buildings codes and less than 50% of houses are above normal floodlevel.
The Kotwali zone has less than 12% of its population living in slums or informal settlements. The
literacy rate is between 75 to 87 %, which is higher than the national average. People are affected
more by waterborne disease (18-23%) in comparison to vector borne diseases (0-5%) and morethan 96% of the population has access to primary health care center. During a disaster the schools
function as relief shelters but only few people evacuate voluntarily during a disaster. The level ofcommunity participation is lower than 20% and acceptability of the community leader in the zone
is medium. The zone lacks in public awareness and disaster drills are not taken up in the zone as aresult communities are poorly prepared to face any disaster and there is very less support of nongovernmental organizations and community based organizations during a disaster.
In Kotwali, less than 20% population are below poverty line and more than 50 % of the households
have two sources of income with less than 30% of the population engaged in informal sector. In
case of a disaster, more than 31% population have reduced income levels. Less than 25% of the
population is employed in formal sector and 18% of the youth population is unemployed. Most of
the population has access to mobile phones, television and 50% or more have motorized vehicles.
More than 30% of the zonal population has savings but only less than 10% of the households are
insured under some insurance scheme. There is an existence of credit facility in the zone. The zone
has no annual disaster management or climate change budget head. There are limited subsidies forhealth care after a disaster but lacks subsidies for livelihood and rebuilding houses in the aftermathof a disaster.
The institutional parameter has the highest resilience in Kotwali due to institutional collaborationand good governance mechanism. Despite this, the zone has weak mainstreaming of disaster risk
reduction and climate change adaptation and community participation in development planning.
There is an effective crisis management framework and sufficient evacuation centers in the zone.
The learning from the past disasters seldom gets translated into planning and mitigation strategiesof the zone. The zone is capable of handling disaster independently due to its strong networking
with neighbouring zones but at the same time there is a need to increase the Non Governmental
Organization and private organization collaborations. There is no established early warning
mechanism in the zone.
Kotwali has not faced any major disasters in the recent times. The zone has water scarcity
problem and heat waves in summer and cold waves in the winter season. The zone has overall
poor ecosystem services due to poor soil quality and constant increase in air pollution and watercontamination. The built up area lies in between 51 to 70% in the zone with only 6 to 10% green
cover. In the last 50 years more than 40% of the green spaces in the zone have been transformed
into built up spaces. Less than 10% of the settlements are in hazardous locations closer to flooding
area and dumping sites. The zone has poor compliance to environmental conservation policies andwaste management systems.

50

Kotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LANDUSE PLANNINGs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s 3TRONG CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Scope for Improving Resiliences )MPROVE THE ROAD CONDITIONS
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIESs 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND CLIMATEchange adaptions 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGS

51

Strengthss (IGH HOUSEHOLD INCOME LEVEL
s $EVELOPED HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS
s 3TRONG CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Scope for Improving Resiliences )MPROVE THE ROAD CONDITIONS
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIESs 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN $ISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND CLIMATEchange adaptions 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGS

Kotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS AND HIGH INCOME LEVEL
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s 3TRONG POPULATION RESILEINCE
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LANDUSE PLANNINGs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
s 3TRONG CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE EDUCATION LEVELS AND
knowledge disseminations )MPROVE THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY EMPLOYMENT AND
budget head creation for DRR
s %CO SYSTEM REVITALIZATION AND STRENGTHEN $22 POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN SOCIAL CAPITAL AND COMMUNITY
preparednesss "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENT POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGS
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR LOW SEVERITY
localized disasters

52

Kotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED SANITARY HEALTH ELECTRICITY CONDITIONS
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LANDUSE PLANNING
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISATERSs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION AND #RISIS
management implementation.

Scope for Improving Resiliences "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENT POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGS

53

Strengthss (IGH POPULATION RESILLENCE
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LANDUSE PLANNINGs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION AND #RISIS
management implementation

Scope for Improving Resiliences "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENT POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGSKotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION AND #RISIS
management implementation
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS

Scope for Improving Resiliences "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 2EVITALIZE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Strengths
s $EVELOPED ROAD CONDITIONS ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED CRISIS MANAGEMENT
framework

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE AND $22 MAINSTREAMING
s "ETTER THE WATER AND SANITARY CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY EMPLOYMENT AND
budget head creation for DRR
s %CO SYSTEM REVITALIZATION AND STRENGTHEN $22 AND LAND
use policys 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

54

Kotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s $EVELOPED 3ANITARY ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE

55

Strengthss 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s $EVELOPED SANITARY CONDITIONS
s (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
s "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WAR
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employment
s %CO SYSTEM REVITALIZATION AND STRENGTHEN $22 POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF DISASTER RISK
reduction and climate change adaptations "ETTER THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employments 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENT POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN lNANCE AND SAVINGS
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FOR LOW SEVERITY
localized disasters

Kotwali Zone

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMSs (IGH 3OCIAL CAPITAL
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATIONs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE

Scope for Improving Resiliences )MPROVE THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AS WARD IS PRONE
frequent low severity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY SUPPORTING HIGHER
income levels and generate employments 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYStrengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SYSTEMS
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCEs )MPROVE THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF THE WARD
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employment and supporting finance and savingss 3TRENGTHEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AS WARD IS PRONE
frequent low severity disasters

56

Kotwali Zone
6SEHWERHXVEJ½GGSRHMXMSRWMR:EVEREWM

Arterial Road connecting the Ghats of Varanasi

Road connecting Dashashwamedh Ghat in the morning

Strengths
s $EVELOPED HEALTH ELECTRICITY AND SANITATION AND SOLID
waste disposal systems.
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERS
s 3TRONG (OUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s 3TRONG #RISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC CONDITION BY GENERATING
employment and supporting finance and savingss 3TRENGTHEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AS WARD IS PRONE
frequent low severity disasters
s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF DISASTER RISK
reduction and climate change adaptation

57

Road connecting Dashashwamedh Ghat in the evening

&YMPHMRKEPSRK&LSRWEPI+LEX[MXL,MKLIWX*PSSHPIZIPSJQEVOIH-RWIX¯,MKLIWX¾SSHQEVOMRKSJ

(EQEKIGEYWIHXSXLI+LEXWF]¾SSHMRKERHVMZIVMRIIVSWMSR
58

Climate Disaster Resilience Index ofTrans Varuna Zone
Introduction
Trans-Varun zone is relatively a newly developed zone located in the northernpart of Varanasi extending beyond river Varuna. The zone consists of 19 wards witha total population of 298,051 as per 2011 provisional population data. The zone has
Sarnath and its precinct, which is a demarcated national heritage site. The transvaruna sewage plant is located in this zone. The Trans-Varuna zone gets its watersupply mainly from the ground water and during summer face water scarcity
problems.

59

Physical

In Trans Varuna zone high physical resilience is due to strong health, water and electricity services
and housing and land use planning. More than 96% of the households have access to electricity formore than 16 hours in a day and water is available for less than 10 hours in a day. On an average,
61 to 75% of the population in the zone has access to hygienic sanitation and 66 to 80% of thesolid waste generated is collected on the same day. However, like other zones almost all the solid
waste goes untreated before dumping and only up to 10% of the solid waste is recycled. During
floods upto 10% of the solid waste gets collected within 48 hours after the water recedes. Morethan 70% of the zone’s roads remain accessible during flooding though 16 to 30% of these havecovered drains. The zone has less than 10% of the buildings built following the buildings codes andmore than 71% of houses are above normal flood level. Less than 12% of the population lives inproximity to polluted industries and dumping sites.

SocialThe social resilience of the zone is the weakest among all the other zones with low level ofcommunity participation, only 11 to 20% of the population participate in community activities. In
Trans Varuna, less than 12.4 % of its population lives in slums or informal settlements. The literacy
rate is between 75 to 87 %, which is higher than the national average. People are affected equally
by waterborne disease and vector borne diseases (0-5%) and only 50 to 75% of the population haveaccess to primary health care. Public awareness and disaster drills are not conducted in the zone
as a result of which communities have limited understanding of the disaster threat and mitigation
measures. During disaster, only a few people evacuate voluntarily and the schools function as therelief shelters. The acceptability of the community leaders in the zone is medium. The communities
are poorly prepared to face any disaster and there is very less support of Non Governmental
Organizations and Community Based Organizations.

Economic

The economic resilience of Trans Varuna zone is highest among other dimensions with 11to 20% of
its population below poverty line and 50 to 74% of the households have single sources of income
with 11 to 20% engaged in informal sector. In case of a disaster 11 to 20% of the population have
reduced income levels. Less than 25% of the population is employed in formal sector and morethan 25% of the youth population is unemployed. Majority of the population has access to mobile
phones, television and 41 to 50% have motorized vehicles. Approximately 10% of the population
has savings but only less than 10% of the population invests in some insurance scheme. The credit
facility in normal times and during disasters does not exist. At present, the zone has no budget for
implementing disaster management or climate change related works. The zone has limited subsidy
for health care but lacks the subsidies for livelihood and rebuilding houses in the aftermath of adisaster.

Institutional

The institutional resilience of Trans Varuna has the lowest resilience due to weak governance andmainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation and limited community
participation in development planning. The zone has an effective crisis management framework andsufficient evacuation centers but lacks trained workers for carrying out emergency services. Further,
there are no trainings and drills conducted for the disaster management team and communities.
The zonal authority is heavily dependent on external support of city head authority and district
disaster management authority in handling disaster. The learning from the past disasters seldom
gets translated into planning and mitigation strategies of the zone. The zone has limited networking
with neighbouring zones and there is a need to increase the Non Governmental Organization andprivate organization collaborations. There is no established early warning mechanism in the zone.

NaturalTrans Varuna faces flooding of both riverine and urban in nature in certain pockets of low intensity
but are not frequent. The zone faces cold wave in winter season once every year of normal
severity. The zone has overall poor ecosystem services due to degrading soil quality and increasein air pollution and water contamination. The built up area lies between 51 to 70% in the zone
with more than 16% green cover. In the last 50 years more than 40% loss of green spaces havebeen transformed into built up areas. In this zone, less than 10% of the settlements are located inhazardous locations closer to the flood plains. The zone has poor compliance to environmental
conservation policies and waste management systems.

60

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTERSs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATIONs )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES

61

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SERVICES
s 3TRONG ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
s (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED
disasterss 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 2ESTRUCTURE CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKStrengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND
climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING lNANCING
and savings 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS

62

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 2ESTRUCTURE CRISIS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

63

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY OF DISASTERSs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s $EVELOPED HEALTH WATER AND ELECTRICITY
services

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengths

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNINGs (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED WATER AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING lNANCING
and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

64

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED
disasterss $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

65

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s 3TRONG INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK
reductions 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengths

Strengths

s ,OW INTENSITY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED WATER AND HEALTH SERVICES
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resilience

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

s 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING lNANCING
and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

66

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTERSs (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED
disasters

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATIONs )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL
services

67

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s $EVELOPED HEALTH AND ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING lNANCING
and savings 3TRENGTHEN HOUSEHOLD ASSETS
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED HEALTH SERVICES
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY SERVICES
s (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings )MPROVE SANITATION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
s 3TRENGTHEN HOUSEHOLD ASSETSStrengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED HEALTH AND WATER SERVICES
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING lNANCING
and savings 3TRENGTHEN HOUSEHOLD ASSETS
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

68

Trans Varuna Zone

Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVELS
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN MAINSTREAMING OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
and climate change adaptations 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS

69Strengthss (IGH INCOME LEVEL
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDSs ,AND USE LESS VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE INDUCED DISASTERS
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING
s $EVELOPED WATER SERVICES

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
s #REATE BUDGET HEAD FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
s 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM
s #REATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

Trans Varuna Zone
Sanitation and Solid waste disposal in Varanasi

Waste Disposal along the streets in Dashashwamedh zone

City’s waste water draining into Varuna river in Adampur zone

Strengths
s ,OW INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF NATURAL HAZARDS
s $EVELOPED ELECTRICITY AND WATER SERVICES
s (IGH POPULATION RESILIENCE
s 3TRONG HOUSING AND LAND USE PLANNING

Scope for Improving Resiliences 3TRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYs 3TRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE BY SUPPORTING
financing and savings 3TRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION MECHANISM
s 3TRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESSs )MPROVE SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES
Sanitation and Solid waste Disposal issues in Adampur zone70Heritage zone of Sarnath in Trans Varuna zone

Dharhara Mosque along the Ghats in Varanasi
71