Kosi

Dr. Jagannath Mishra, former Chief Minister of Bihar, has given a pathetic description of floods in Bihar. He said that "Nobody from the government has gone to Saharsa so far. If the people in Saharsa are surviving, they must be saying that we are engulfed in water since ten days and nobody is there to think about us. This is quite worrisome. I will suggest that we must try to look after those surviving there. We must try to save them, whether by boats or a helicopter.. The flood in Saharsa is not a flood, this is unprecedented¦.we cannot call it a flood, it is a deluge." But wait, he is not talking about the recent floods (2008) in Bihar. He was making a speech in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha on the 13th September 1984 about a similar incident that took place on the 5th September 1984 near Navhatta in Saharsa district of north Bihar when the Kosi had breached its embankment at 75th kilometer south of the much talked about Bhimnagar Barrage and come out of the jacket just as it happened at Kusaha this year. Obviously, the powers that be refuse to take any lessons from the past mistakes and their executive wing, the Water Resources Department, is immune to any criticism and learning. The 1984 incident had uprooted nearly half a million people from their homes and hearths and engulfed 96 villages spread over 7 blocks of Saharsa and Supaul districts then. They could return to their homes only after the Holi festival in March 1985.

About the Report: The flood situation report has been a joint effort of Megh Pyne Abhiyan's (literally clouds' water campaign, involving people around the issue of water and livelihood, and a functional network of grassroots organizations) partners - Gramyasheel, Supaul; Kosi Seva Sadan, Saharsa; Samta, Khagaria, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh, Madhubani; SAVERA, West Champaran; Luisa Cortesi and Eklavya Prasad in assistance with Santosh Jha of Gram Bharti, Raghopur.Supaul. For compiling the situation report, two days of field visit was undertaken by the team, involving extensive interaction with affected villagers from India and Nepal, discussion with members of civil society groups, deliberations with government officials (Sub Divisional Magistrate and Dy Superintendent of Police, Tribeniganj; District Magistrate, Supal) and internal exchange of idea between the partners of Megh Pyne Abhiyan (MPA) and the supporting organizations. During the field visit, the group started to explore the option of establishing a district level coordination group comprising of eminent personalities and professionals, representatives of non governmental organizations and media, to coordinate and steer the rescue and relief work with individuals, government agencies, non government organizations, donor agencies, corporate bodies etc. Hence, on 25th August during a district level meeting of local organizations, activists and donor agency, a consensus was reached to set up a coordination group, named as the Flood Action Coordination Group (FACG), Supaul.

General overview of the River: On the 18th of August the eastern embankment of Kosi near Kusaha in Nepal's Sunsari district breached. The breach itself has caused colossal loss of life and property in the south east tarai region of Nepal and in six districts of north Bihar, affecting more than 2.5 million human lives. After the breach, the river has shifted its course nearly 100 kilometres (kms) eastward from its earlier course (which use to pass through the districts of Supaul, Saharsa, Madhubani, Darbhanga and Khagaria).

Access the entire report:

Sri. Dinesh Kr. Mishra reviews the relief efforts following the severe flooding of Bihar earlier this year. We have several earlier blog posts regarding the floods: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/blog/index.php/category/bihar-floods/

There is good news from the relief front from Bihar this year and that is definitely a healthy sign for future. It is there because for many years in the past, the relief scene used to be chaotic and 2004 flood relief scandal was the logical end of the goings on in relief distribution. A slight change for the better is greeted with cheers from all quarters. Providing relief is a state subject and the Central Government helps the states in some ways in managing relief to the flood victims. Twelfth Finance Commission has revised the standards set for relief under Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and recommended it to be effective from June this year (2007). It is intended to glance through the relief operations in Bihar in the backdrop of standards and recommendations set by the Government. Government of Bihar submitted a memorandum for assistance to the Central Government on 28th August 2007. By that time 9939 villages in 225 blocks of 20 districts with a population of 20.4 million was hit by floods. GoB anticipated that by the time the floods are over, some 25 million people would be hit by the current floods. Some 515 persons were killed in the floods (projected 600), 512,000 houses were destroyed (projected 6 lakhs) and standing crops over 16.4 lakh hectares was submerged till then. Besides, there was an extensive damage to National and State Highways, breaches in embankments, damage to health infrastructure, industries, fisheries, energy and cattle. GoB had put its losses at Rs 8000 Crores and requested the Government of India GoI for immediate help. Of the requested amount, over half the demand (Rs. 4,130 Crores) was from the Disaster Management Department (DMD) of the state to cover the costs of food assistance ( @ one quintal wheat/ rice for estimated 6 lakh families), house rebuilding grant, distribution of polythene sheets, emergency cooked food and deployment of helicopters etc. The other departments of the state have put their demands separately.

Notes on flood situation district-wise in Khagaria, Sahasra, Supaul, Madhubani, and West Champaran districts of Bihar.These were compiled by the Megh Pyne Abhiyan, a network of NGOs in North Bihar. (Due to the difficulty of the ground situation some inaccuracies may be present)

This is a snippet from Dinesh Kr. Mishra's book "Living With the Politics of Floods: The Mystery of Flood Control".