Rivers

In September 2008, Dalit Watch published a report on its findings while monitoring 205 relief camps in the wake of the devastating floods on the India-Nepal border. This report records the damage caused by the breach on the embankment of the Kosi river in August 2008 and appraises the quality of relief efforts in the aftermath of the floods.

Mahendra Yadav and his team of Asha Parivar is stationed in Babhangama, 15 kms. from Muraliganj Block headquarters of Madhepura Dist. of Bihar for over two months now to carry out relief operations and help people access relief from government schemes. Muraliganj is 80 kms. from Katihar railway station.

This 8 page document states the approach made by the visiting team towards the disaster and the experiences of the workers on the ground. The report is detailed with covering the minutae of the relief work organized and implemented. It also takes a look at the final impact of the work on the beneficiaries.

The Kosi floods in Bihar stunned the world this year. But the real tragedy is that the disaster had been predicted. It was simply waiting to happen. The Kosi embankments were completed in 1963 with a designed life span of 35 years.

The setting is unique. 34 Nepali villages within the embankments want the breach to remain opened. I talked to some of them and reminded them of the slogan that was in air at the time of construction of the embankments, "Aadhi Roti Khayengein, Kosi Baandh Banayengei".

More than 17 million people have been affected in India, Bangladesh and Nepal by the recent floods in South Asia. Around 3 million people have been rendered homeless and more than one million are now living in relief camps.

Guest Post by: Dinesh Kumar Mishra

The foundation stone of the Kosi Project was laid on January 14, 1955 amidst fanfare, jubilation and victory. Dr. Shrikrishna Sinha, thgen Chief Minister of Bihar, laid the foundation stone near Bhutaha village close to Nirmali, in Saharsa (now Supaul) district with the chanting of mantras by Pt. Mahabir Jha of Jhitki village and shouting of slogans like 'Aadhi Roti Khayengein, Kosi Bandh Banaayengein.' (We will eat only half a chapati but we will surely build the Kosi embankments). A majority of people lost the other half of the bread too on the 18th August 2008 when the Kosi embankment breached on that day.

Col. Townsend of the US Army while deliberating in a seminar organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers to discuss the Mississippi floods of 1927 had said that even the best designed and carefully constructed embankments remain at the mercy of burrowing animals like rats, foxes, muskrats who can create a hole in the finest levee that has been devised, which if not closed within a few moments will ensure its destruction. The Mississippi River of the United States broke loose in 1927 inundating an area of 51,200 sq. kilometer and damaging property to an estimated extent of two hundred million to a billion dollars. The breaches drove nearly three quarters of a million people from their homes and six hundred thousand of them were dependant on Red Cross. The wealth and power of the United States enabled much to be done for the sufferers, still they suffered. He further added a 'careless supervisor and dark nights' to the list destroyers of embankments. His observations remain valid till date as the Kosi comes out of its shackles in Kusaha in Nepal some 13 kilometers upstream of the Kosi Barrage. All the eight breaches that have occurred so far can be brought under these categories.

Col. Townsend gave benefit of doubt to the planners and engineers when he prefixed 'best designed and carefully constructed' adjectives to the embankments. The Kosi has breached its embankment eighth time and it is for the first time that the 'disaster' has generated so much of interest. These embankments are spaced at an average distance of 9 to 10 kilometers below the barrage with a maximum width of 16 kilometres between Kisunipatti and Bhaptiahi and minimum width of nearly 3 kilometres at the barrage itself. The spacing of the embankments is only 8 kilometres at the tail end, between Baluaha Ghat and Ghonghepur. In Nepal portion the spacing between them is restricted to between 3 to 6 kilometers. Common sense suggests that the spacing between the embankments should increase as the river advances further as more and more streams join the river from western side. This simple common sense was kicked around when these embankments were constructed in late 1950s. There were 304 villages with a population of 192,000 (1951 census) going to be trapped between the embankments and each one of them was trying to be located outside the embankments. Later the embankments were extended and 380 villages of Bihar and 34 villages of Nepal came within them. Their current population is nearly 1.2 million. The village locations were fixed and it was the embankment on either side of the river that could be moved. So did it happen. Now the embankment alignment is a caricature of what it was designed, if there was any design.

The report ( current as on 13th September, 2008 ) provides a concise overview of the daily flood situation, action taken so far and provides detailed statistics on the issue. The report also includes meteorological forecasts and analysis of current and possible flood situations in the different areas of concern.

A very interesting thread has been initiated on the Discussion Forum on the Portal by Bob Eibl.

North Bihar has a long history of flooding.Through a series of posts here, we will attempt to explain the background of flooding in Bihar and what are the root causes.