The cryosphere constitutes an important subset of the hydrosphere. The Himalayan cryosphere is a significant contributor to the hydrological budget of a large river system such as the Ganges. Basic data on the cryosphere in the Himalaya is inadequate and also has large uncertainties. The data on glacial melt component in the Himalayan rivers of India also shows high variability.

One of the first announcements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi pertained to cleaning the Ganga. But this is not the first time an attempt has been made to clean the river. River cleaning schemes initiated in 1974, 1985, 1993, 1996 and 2008-09 have been monumental failures. While the Prime Minister's announcement was followed by a lot of rhetoric and initial moves towards the goal were frantic, two years later, there has been little improvement in the state-of-affairs.

Kandi block of Murshidabad district, West Bengal is situated in the Mayurakshi–Dwarka Plain. This is one of the maximum flood-affected blocks in Murshidabad. The average frequency of occurrence of floods in the last decade is 8. This study prepares a vulnerability map of Kandi block at village level combining physical, social and economic indicators of flood hazard. PCA analysis has been applied for computation of vulnerability indices. The results reveal that there is a difference in biophysical exposure and vulnerability index.