Bihar is undergoing an unprecedented level of flood disaster due to a 1.5 k.m long breakage in the 135 km long eastern retaining bund of the KOSI Barrage. The breakage at about 13 km east of the barrage near Kushaha in Supaul district happened on 18th August at 12 noon, flushing the enormous quantity of water in the KOSI reservoir to create a new river towards south in the direction of Madhepura and Saharsa to join the old river at Khagaria.
River Kosi has been notorious for shifting its course then and there and it is recorded that it has been diverting its course towards west up to 110 km during the last two centuries. It was as part of taming this river and reducing the flood havoc, Kosi barrage and the irrigation canal system up to Saharsa were constructed as per the Indo- Nepal agreement of 1954. Even after the construction of the barrage, small shifting has been taking place in the down streams and the present one is unprecedented for many aspects. The breakage is attributed to many reasons such as laps in maintenance, deforestation, high erosion in the catchments and so on. Anyway, the level of present deviation is unbelievable and the incident has undoubtedly established that Kosi River basin continues to be dangerous to human life.
The heavy surge of water has created cascading breakages on number of roads and canal bunds along its southern direction, increasing the spread of flood areas to seven districts namely Supaul, Arariya, Purnea, Madhepura, Saharsa, Darbhanga, and Khagariya. Out of these, Supaul, Madhepura and Saharsa are most affected. Out of the total 31 affected blocks, 18 are in these three districts. As per the initial assessments, around 10000 people are missing or dead. The rushing water simply washed away human beings and thousands of animals. Credible statistics about the tolls are nowhere available. Even after more than one moth, rescue operations are still continuing to evacuate people from remote villages that were cut off due to the numerous breakages on the road and rail networks.
The Government officials reported a death toll of 154 only. But matured activists say it will not be less than 1000 and can be between 1000-3000. Missing cases are much more. There is no statistics available. Many people might have plighted to the relatives elsewhere, people think. It is estimated that around 35 lakhs of people are affected by the floods.
Out of the affected people, a good portion has taken shelter on canal bunds and public roads, which are the topmost places here. People of numerous villages have totally migrated to these bunds along with their cattle and pets. It is an unforgettable pathetic scene to see the life on these bunds. Generally these bunds are of 5-6 meter width on top, on both sides of the canal. In most places two rows of huts are made of bamboo, collected from the nearby villages (Thanks for the plentiful availability of bamboo in these villages.) and polythene sheets supplied by government or NGOs .The huts are of 2×2 meter size, keeping a gap of one meter in between. In many paces, cattle also are tied up on the slopes of the bunds wherever water is less. In an average, there are about 300 huts in a row per km and 600 where there are two rows. Starting from Supaul, this canal system goes up to Saharsa and the total length of the bunds comes to more than 120 km. Thus, it can be estimated that total families dwell ing on canal bunds only will be around 60,000 – 70,000 with a population of 3-4 lakhs. Roadside dwellers also will be around this. Canal bunds are fully occupied by the people, creating a good visual mosaic of colorful polythene sheets outside, but utter darkness of indescribable miseries of human life inside. There are absolutely no sanitation or drinking water facilities. Certain portions of these bund dwellers are taken up by NGOs and Government administration and no doubt, these agencies are putting attention two places easily reachable by vehicles and there are substantial lengths of bunds, which are not taken care of. People move from one part to other when they get news of distribution of any relief materials and always families occupied at the road points get more advantage. Caste discrimination also is seen in some places on the bunds, keeping the Mahadalits and Sardars (Muslims) at the further ends. Still they are keeping unbelievable levels of silence and endurance. In most places food is provided only once a day and at few places, two times.
GOVT INTERVENTION Like in all mega disasters, Bihar Floods also created a chaotic situation. Although there were reports of seepage in the retaining wall of KOSI barrage days ago, the state administration authentically denied of any breakage even when water level has been steadily rising. And there was no preparation from the Government side to mitigate a disaster. In this situation, after the breakage of 18th August and spread of floods up to Saharsa by 21st there was no clear mitigation plan. The Government started establishing relief camps from 11th Sep. onwards only. Much before that, many NGOs had established in the field. Now the approach of the government seems to be supporting military in the rescue operations, running mega relief camps and distributing relief materials of one-quintal cereals and Rs. 2200 per affected family. Still, considering the usual Bihar standards, we can see that the total Govt machinery is now oriented to relief. One intelligent thing the government did initially, was issuing an order to hand over noon meal materials available in schools to local Shiksha Samitis so as to facilitate immediate distribution of food to the victims at least for few days. Local Governments are not much in the picture. Wherever they are interested, state government agencies are providing food materials for local relief camps. Still, distant places where communication is cut off or are on round about route, people are not much taken care of. Sonavarsha blo ck of Saharsa district having 21-gram panchayats is an example. About 50 thousand people are on bunds here. Only after the arrival of military they started getting food. This area is totally cut off and only way to get there is boats.
As the govt. has started distributing cereals and money, certification of the affected families has become a problem. In many places, panchayath Mukhiyas have fled with their families. 450 families of Udambur Gram Panchayat of Supaul district blocked NH 106 at Raghavpur on 23 Sep for 2 hours to get the Mukhiya’s certificates, who absconded for not giving the certificate. Finally the SDM had to come to settle the issue. Similarly BDOs are Gheraoed in some places. Mukhiya of Tengraha parihari G.P. has left to Madhepura, 30km away, soon after the flood and he has not come back yet. Some people said, he might have gone to collect relief materials (!) wherever you go in these areas, you can hear such stories of anarchy and chaos. We will wonder about the level of endurance and patience of Biharies. While all these happen, the villain, river KOSI is still flowing as normal and the reservoir is having very little water as all the storage water has gone to the new course. 13 Km of Kosi from the breakage to the Barrage is almost dried up and the irrigation canals have very little water in them, raising a new threat of drought in the irrigated command areas of Kosi project. Minor repair works to confine the breakage is going on and nobody is permitted to the breakage spot by the Nepal authority. Saddling the breakage is another Herculean task in the coming days.
Nepal Government also is seriously involved in rescue and rehabilitation efforts. On the western earthen bund and retaining wall, thousands of huts are made and the Nepal govt. is providing 5 kg rice and half kg daal for each person for10 days. Also they provide firewood. Their huts are more spacious and of better quality. There is latrine for every 20 houses. Most of the dwellers in the Nepal relief camps also are Biharies fled from the India side.
Apart from the bund camps, govt. agencies and various voluntary agencies are running relief camps, wherever space is available. All the schools in the flood area are closed and nobody knows when they will be open again. All the vehicles are on the road and getting a vehicle on hire is a difficult affair. So is getting hotel rooms. All are occupied mostly by NGO people. Within this chaotic situation some kind of a system is evolving spontaneously. The real problems are yet to start. After the recession of floodwater, where will the people go? What will they do? How will they live? Being their paddy cultivation spoiled totally, their animals lost, their livelihood is in danger. While water recedes, we have to expect the attack of contagious diseases in the hot climate of Bihar, especially in the presence of contaminated water. Small NGOs and voluntary organizations have started packing back for lack of funds or long-term programmes. This again, worsens the situation.
INTERVENTION OF BGVS: As BGVS has got more than 15 years’ field experience in Bihar, especially in north Bihar, it was quite natural that the district administration of affected districts had requested BGVS to help in the field. Lot of BGVS activists also were in the displaced families. As local activists in the main stream, many of our people started working in the rescue operations even without any instruction from the state committee. In many places, they started collecting food materials and clothes locally and helped the people. Even before the govt. started relief camps local activists requested the organization to open relief camps in their places. Before a decision at the state level, the first relief camp was opened near the BGVS district committee office in Saharsa in the Saurbazar block office campus on 28th August.
On 3rd Sep, Asha Mishra, K.N. Chatterjee and Bhushan from the National center and Blorin Mohanty from BGVS Orissa attended the state EC of Bihar held at Saharsa, especially convened to discuss the flood issue. They also visited various affected places. Immediate strategies were discussed and special meeting of the District Secretaries was convened on 7th Sep to discuss the various as pects of implementation of a three months’ plan. We decided to work intensively in three districts namely Supaul, Madhepura and Saharasa, the most affected of the seven. On 11th Sep, BGVS opened a regional co-ordination office at Saharsa. All the districts committees were instructed to collect resources either in kind or in cash. Each district committee was connected to any of these affected districts, facilitating peer group operations which were found very effective. Again the state EC met on 20th Sep to assess the situation. BGVS National Centre provided immediate support of seed money and co-coordinated the support activity at the national level to seek more funds. Some state organizations provided support through cash donations, sending medical teams, medicine etc. From Kerala, KSSP sent a 12 member medical team for 10 days, apart from the monitory contribution. BGVS Bhopal, donated money and clothes and BGVS Jharkhand collected food materials. A lot of eminent persons and officials took personal interest to help BGVS interventions. Name of Sri K.P. Ramaiya IAS, Development Commissioner, Gaya has to be specially mentioned. He collected substantial amount of food materials from all the four districts under his control and sent to BGVS. Hundreds of volunteers were sent by difference district committees to the affected areas.
For meeting out the basic food requirements of people in the relief camps, it was decided that one or more of the BGVS district units will be given the responsibility of collecting supplies for each of the flood affected districts. Thus BGVS Begusrai will take care of Saharsa, BGVS units of Gaya, Nawada, Sasaram, Khagariya and Babua will support Madepura and the district units of Darbahanga, Lakhisarai and Munger will provide support to Supaul. This arrangement is working quite well. Most of the districts are sending grains, food material etc on a regular basis.
A meeting of available EC members of BGVS, Bihar held at the BGVS office Patna, on the 20th September reviewed the progress of relief work so far initiated. Dr. Vinod Raina and myself participated in this meeting
Prof. Sachidanand reported that the following activities have been initiated so far.
1. 7 camps (3 in Madepura, 2 in Saharsa and one in Supaul) have already been started and one camp in Supaul will be started within a week. These camps together are taking care of 4042 people. More camps will be started if necessary. 2. The regional office at Saharsa has become operational. A building has been taken on rent and around 10 full timers are available there day and night. 3. Each of the relief camp is managed by a group of activists and various committees of local people as well as camp dwellers have been constituted. To take care of the day to day activities in the camps 4. A team of 14 health activists including 5 doctors have arrived from Kerala at the initiative of KSSP to provide medical aid to the flood victims. They are visiting all the camps and also nearby villages. They will also give training to BGVS activists in health and hygiene related topics. 5. Jamsetji Tata Trust had released grant of Rs.23.20 lakhs to the BGVS, New Delhi, towards working with one camp for 1000 flood victim families in the flood affected area of Bihar. 6. The Ministry of social empowerment has approached BGVS to see if they can support BGVS efforts in flood relief. A representative of the ministry will be visiting the flood affected districts from 21st-25th, September.
The meeting also discussed various aspects of managing the camps effectively. The following decisions were taken. 1. A separate bank account may be opened at Madepura to operate the Bihar flood relief funds received/to be received by BGVS. This will be operated by the GS and treasurer of BGVS, Bihar 2. While part of the material, food, medicine etc may be made available from nearby districts and neighboring state units, some material will have to be purchased from the open market. Fool proof systems will have to be instituted for this purpose. A state level purchase committee was constituted for this purpose. 3. A proper system of managing the accounts, stocks etc in each camp also worked out. Special care has to be given for maintaining vouchers, head wise accounts etc.
It was also decided that a system for filing weekly report and account to the central office should be made operational. The GS was authorized to immediately identify one or two full timers (one for accounting and one for documentation and reporting) for this purpose.
Out of ten Relief Camps, two are already wound up, as there is no further requirement as govt. camps have been opened nearby. Two, which were planned, are yet to start for want of resources; not only that, these places, Beisar and Kathi are completely cut off and to reach there, round about route of more than 300 km have to be traveled. They will be established within few days.
Out of the six camps already running, four are placed in local Government Middle Schools, one on the roadside and one on the canal bund. The roadside camp at Kanp may be wound up with in few days, as water is receding fast in this area. The canal bund camp has to be shifted to another convenient place near by, which is not yet made available. Jeetpur Parsa is reachable only by boat and Tengaraha camp on foot about 2 km. Narpati patti camp in Supaul is in an isolated place, very near to the eastern bank of old Kosi. This place also is difficult to reach.
Generally, in the relief camps food is provided once or twice a day. In almost all the canal bund camps, food is given once a day, the people said. Govt. medical team and UNICEF team are visiting the camps as per request. Govt. Camps here are generally called Mega Camps, not always for its sizes, and few of them in the urban centers are made show pieces, providing more facilities and amenities. Canal bund camps are the least cared ones, mainly for reasons of access. BGVS is trying to make our camps different. We are providing breakfast also. Medical attention and sanitation is given more importance. Organizational set up within the camp is designed. Family details of the residents are collected. Regular meetings and activities are taking place. Activities for children are carried out in some centers like Jeetapur and Tengarahi.
The medical team from Kerala, including 5 doctors and 7 paramedical staff has been visiting all the camps from 21st September onwards. Apart from the camp residents, lots of near by villagers also are taking their services. Medicines are distributed. OP registers are kept for follow up activities. 60 BGVS health workers are given 3 days’ training on preventive health care practices, awareness building and disaster preparedness. These workers will be distributed to different blocks and the district administration of Saharsa has sought services of twenty activists. The Kerala team is in the field up to 28th September. Cultural teams of BGVS has been presenting programme in govt. run mega camps in Saharsa every evening as per request from the District Administration.
TASKS AHEAD BGVS will do a clear and realistic plan for winding up each camp. If there are some people who have to remain in the camp because of water logging, total destruction of houses, etc. A separate plan will have to be made for that.
As a second phase intervention, BGVS can prepare a module of action to be campaigned at State and district level and implemented at the local level, especially, panchayat level. Every Gram Panchayat can prepare a small document on Environment Appraisal, Eco restoration programme, employment generating programme, Health and sanitation programme and flood mitigation programs for future. This can be done by a group of 5-10 people of the Gram Panchayat and they can be given training for 2-3 days. Preparation of employment programme will be easy as it is already done by the local self government Institutions. It needs only a revision in the flood situation.
We have planned to intervene in the education of children affected by floods. A large number of children’s in formal education stream as well as children who have never been enrolled have been affected by the floods.
1. Employment Generation The first installments of BRGF and NREGS funds for 2008-09, at the tune of Rs. 7 lakhs and 10 lakhs respectively, have already come in Gram Panchayat accounts and they are waiting approval of the proposed local project from the block authorities. Normally this is the most corruption prone level for any RD schemes. Urgent measures have to be taken to implement these programmes in the form of post flood employment programmes so that all deserving people can be given employment for at least 120 days in the coming six months’ period which can easily solve a part of the present economic crisis. But, to get this sanctioned immediately, may need high social pressure including agitations.
2. Eco Restoration Programme Eco restoration programmes have to be widely prepared and implemented to mend the disaster happened to the natural resources. It will be a most appreciable thing if every Gram Panchayat can prepare their Environmental Appraisal Report and Eco restoration programme based on that. This can be well connected with the BRGF and NREGS programmes. This is an area were BGVS can work intensively.
3. Health And Sanitation Programme Generally, the health and sanitation system of Bihar is very poor and the disaster situation has worsened it. Experts say that there is every possibility of an outbreak of communicable diseases like diarrhea. Awareness campaign on sanitation and personal hygiene has to be supplemented to the preventive health care measures. Both need substantial amount of health workers. There should be a trained group of activists in every Gram Panchayat. School level awareness also should be taken up. For community level awareness building, Kala jathas, specially formulated for this purpose can be arranged (BGVS, Bihar State Committee has already started thinking on these lines). Mass communication like TV demonstration may be designed.
4. Disaster Preparedness Programme Given the profile of shifting of KOSI River, it is clear that no place coming under Kosi command area is safe from flood. So, it is very much relevant to take up a programme of disaster preparedness in this area. There are things to be done by the State Government as well as the LSGIs. A flood mitigation programme can be chalked out for every village in this area and wide propaganda on these lines has to be carried out before and during June-October, the normal floods period. The new school buildings in this area can be designed as flood shelters like the cyclone shelters in the Orissa coast.
5. Kosi River Basin Management Finally, the bigger question comes. How can we manage the Kosi river basin scientifically? This, of course, is an area to be well debated. Lot of debate is on going. Still wide discussion from the science and technology angle has to be initiated, for which the PSM can take a proactive role. BGVS Bihar can form a group of concerned scientists and scholars to prepare a framework document for discussion, and conduct wide discussions which can be carried out within a span of, say one or two years. As an international issue, there are difficulties in this regard but we can at least focus on the command area specific community action. A panel of hydrologists, geologists as well as sociologists can be entrusted with the task of drafting such a framework document. Finally to do all the above programmes BGVS will organize two days workshops of important activists of all flood hit districts to discuss all aspects of the issues and prepare appropriate intervention plans.