Droughts and Floods

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December 12, 2022 Study looks at behavioral biases in crop insurance adoption
Adoption rate of crop insurance low in India despite government efforts (Image: PxHere, CC0 Public Domain)
October 30, 2022 This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
September 13, 2022 Heavy rains and floods have battered Bengaluru yet again. Uncontrolled and unregulated development and concretisation of the city that pays no heed to the ecology and hydrology of the region needs to stop!
Urban flooding in Bangalore (Image Source: Thejas via Wikimedia Commons)
August 21, 2022 Floods are not feared, but rather welcomed by the Mishing communities from Majuli island in Assam as they bring bountiful fish- a rich source of food, nutrition and livelihood for the community.
The Majuli island, a haven for fish (Image Source: Usha Dewani, India Water Portal)
August 10, 2022 The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 2, 2022 The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
Bihar floods: 'Living on 2.5 Kg flattened rice’
Only 4,18,490 of the 56.53 lakh people have been evacuated from the floods so far, and people are forced to survive on meagre rations provided by the government. Posted on 10 Aug, 2020 03:55 PM

Two weeks ago, the Kanakai River flowing through Kishanganj rendered dozens of families homeless. While the people in the region are staying under plastic sheds, the government has turned a blind eye to their plight.

Mohammadin is also one of them. He tells the India Water Portal,

Locals engaged in repair of broken embankment in Darbhanga (Source: Umesh Kumar Ray)
"Everything’s devastated, and no one is listening to us!"
Surrounded by flood waters, and taking shelter at rooftops with a limited supply of food and drinking water, people of Bihar wait for the floods to end. Posted on 08 Aug, 2020 06:52 PM

"All of a sudden, water entered the house at night. Goods and cattle were submerged. There is no place to eat or drink. We have been in trouble for three days, but no one has come to help us.” The elderly Gauri Singh complains, with mixed feelings of anger, pain and helplessness. 

Floodwater enters Satjoda village of Chapra (Source: Umesh Kumar Ray)
Floods in Bihar: Pregnant woman reaches hospital in a tube boat
Amid the rising floods and absence of government help, locals help a pregnant woman reach the hospital using a makeshift boat. Posted on 03 Aug, 2020 01:23 PM

Flood havoc continues to increase in Bihar. Until recently, the effect of flood was only in eight districts across the state but now it has spread to ten districts.

Pregnant woman goes to hospital in flood in a jugaad boat (Source: Umesh K Ray)
Affected by floods, locals resort to chowkis for safety
"People living inside the Kosi embankment get little or no government help that is why we have been doing this jugaad for years during the flood season". Posted on 29 Jul, 2020 05:35 PM

Flood waters inundated the house of Ramchandra Yadav, a resident of Khoknaha village of Supaul, for three days. During these days he cooked food by setting up a brigade on the outpost and spent nights at the same post.

Children taking water from a submerged handpump (Image source: Prabhat Khabar)
Bihar and northeast India reel under floods, Assam worst hit
News this week Posted on 23 Jul, 2020 09:26 AM

Flood batters three northeast states, Assam worst affected

People take a boat to cross the flood-ravaged Brahmaputra (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Nearly three lakh people across eight districts affected by floods in Bihar
Floods in Bihar create havoc with 2.88 lakh people being affected. 9,845 people have been evacuated from the region and sent to relief camps. Posted on 22 Jul, 2020 03:48 PM

The annual floods that wreak havoc in Bihar have knocked the state this year as well. So far, the flood waters have entered 150 panchayats of 30 blocks across eight districts, namely Sitamarhi, Shivhar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj and East Champaran  .

An official of Bihar's Disaster Management Department said,

Life submerged within the embankment area (Source: India Water Portal Hindi)
Floods in Bihar: State submerged in flood waters
Locals take refuge on the embankments as flood waters enter the new areas in the state and government is yet to provide help. Posted on 22 Jul, 2020 01:20 PM

The rains have stopped in Bihar, in the last few days, but despite this, the water level of the rivers continues to rise. According to information received by the Disaster Management Department, the water level of Budhi Gandak is rising in Khagaria, Samastipur and Muzaffarpur's Sikanderpur gauge station.

Village under threat from erosion in Kishanganj (Source: India Water Portal Hindi)
Kamla, Kosi and Bagmati rivers in rage, disrupt life
Incessant rains in Terai region of Bihar and Nepal causes floods in North Bihar as many rivers rise above the danger mark. Posted on 15 Jul, 2020 07:58 PM

Due to intermittent rains in the Terai region of Bihar and Nepal, the water level of Mahananda, Kosi, Kamla and Bagmati rivers of North Bihar is continuously increasing and flood conditions have started to build in the region.

Locals provide aid to people hit by floods in Bihar
Floods in Bihar: Government prepares to shift people to safer places
As flood situation hits the state, the government is working towards taking people to safer places and preparing itself for the rescue efforts. Posted on 15 Jul, 2020 07:51 PM

Due to incessant rains, many rivers in Bihar are in spate and there is a situation of floods in the state. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy rains for the next two-three days, which may worsen the situation.

Heavy rains predicted

Children drinking milk at a flood relief centre in Bihar (Source: Bhartiya Jan Utthan Parishad)
Drone to help monitor embankments and save people trapped in floods
This year, along with working at the grass root level to deal with floods, the Bihar government is also focussing on the full use of state-of-the-art technologies. Posted on 12 Jul, 2020 05:50 PM

#HelloWRD: A social media campaign

Completed flood protection in Naruar, Bihar (Image Source: Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, Twitter handle)
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