Image and Content Courtesy: Janmadhyam

The latest loss figures (24th Feb. 09_ is five districts, 35 blocks, 33.29 lakh peopla, 9.97 lakh live stock., affected area 3.68 lakh hectares, 2.37 lakh houses, 527 human death a and 19,323 loss of cattle. These are official figures of Govt of Bihar and relate only to Kosi floods. Other areas are not included in this. Please check the population and area of any district yourself.

Govt has been spending something to the tune of Rs. 15– 200 crores annually on all the embankments within the state. Separate expenditure river wise is not available with me. It may not be easily available elsewhere too.

Minimizing losses is a subject in itself but accountability of maintaining the structures is a crucial point to avoid disasters like the one that happened this year. This, however, does not mean that the losses would not be there. It is a very complex question.

The following video from Janmadhyam highlights the growing famine in the wake of the floods in Bihar.

Kosi Katha-The Making of A Famine from Janmadhyam on Vimeo.

Guest Post by: Dinesh Mishra

“If it had not breached at Kusaha, it would have anyway breached at this point,” points a villager towards the probable location on the eastern bank in village Rajabaas near Prakashpur in Sunsari district of Nepal, located 14 km upstream of Kusaha where the Eastern Afflux embankment of the Kosi had breached on the August 18, 2008.

The river has indeed come close to the embankment at the site and with the spurs that protect the embankment in no good condition, a potential danger lurks. The setting is seemingly perfect for another breach! The state has just woken up, collecting stones for the protection work in case the river decides to gnaw the embankment. Should that happen, what course the river would adopt before it joins that Ganga is not known just as it was not known the course last year following the breach at Kusaha?

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The India Water Portal Blog carries an interesting write up regarding the implementation of Ecosan solutions for sanitation needs in flood hit Bihar.

The guest post by Vishwanath Srikantaiah details the activities of “Megh Pyne Abhiyan” & also efforts to introduce Ecosan by Sheel Raj Shetty of Biome Solutions. The report also recounts the success of the Ecosan method and also more details & video regarding the same!

Access the Post here: Ecosan Solutions for Flood Hit Bihar

Zee News.com:
Former CM demands the Bihar govt. to send detailed project report to the Centre for 14,800 cr:
http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-03-13/514630news.html

Bihar CM announces that the state govt turns flood - hit Bihar in to a prosperous zone:
http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-02-28/511554news.html

Former Bihar CM blames the earth work to plug Kosi breach:
http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-02-19/508756news.html

SindhToday.net reports on more European aid for flood hit Bihar in the form of Rs. 134 million:
http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/74151.htm

The Times of India:
Nitish and Lalu have a colourless Holi:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Nitish-Lalu-not-to-celebrate-Holi-due-to-Kosi-deluge/articleshow/4239675.cms

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Image and Content Courtesy: SANDRP


From,

Himanshu Thakkar
South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People
86-D, AD block, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi 110 088
Ph: (011) 27484655, 9968242798
cwaterp@vsnl.com, www.sandrp.in
March 10, 2009

To,
Kosi Inquiry Commission,
4, Deshratna Marg,
State Guest House,
Patna-800 015.
Phone: (0612)-2215300.
E-Mail: kosi-aayog-bih@nic.in
surendra2547@rediffmail.com

Subject: Issue of accountability for the breach of Kosi embankment

Dear Kosi Inquiry Commission members,

This is in response to the advertisement in the Hindustan Times dated February 26, 2009, where the Kosi Inquiry Commission had invited submissions from all concerned by March 13, 2009.

1. There is no doubt that the breach of Kosi embankment on August 18, 2008 was a man made tragedy. The breach occurred because the steps necessary to be taken to ensure adequate maintenance of the embanked river portion were not taken by the concerned persons in the short and the long term.

2. The Ganga Flood Control Commission (http://gfcc.bih.nic.in/) is a sub ordinate office of the Union Ministry of Water Resources. The GFCC’s Chairman’s introduction to the Annual report of the GFCC for the year 2006-07 (the latest year for which the website has the annual report) claims, “As Chairman of the Gandak High Level Committee and Kosi High Level Committee, GFCC has recommended every year, the flood protection works for implementation by the Govts of U.P and Bihar. The implementation of recommendations has successfully helped in maintaining the flood protection embankments satisfactorily thereby protecting large areas behind them.” Since GFCC chairman takes the responsibility for the “successfully… maintaining the flood protection embankments satisfactorily” for Kosi river, the responsibility for its mal functioning must be with the same chairman of the GFCC.

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Barh Mukti Abhiyan organised a series of workshops in 2008 (before the unprecedented floods that occurred that year) to raise awareness of the issue and educate itself. The workshop notes are a record of the actual ground level experiences, understandings/misunderstandings and conversations regarding the floods in North Bihar. The attached files below are the second set of the workshop notes. We welcome comments which will be passed back to Barh Mukti Abhiyan.

Workshop Notes:

Banaul Meeting: 29th and 30th April. 2008

Jal Mamav Virodhee Meeting: 4th and 5th May. 2008

Khagaria Meeting: 28th and 29th Aug. 2008

Khajauli Meetg: 22nd August. 2008

Mahishi Meeting: 3rd and 5th June. 2008

Navhatta Meeting: 13th and 14th August. 2008

Sitamarhi Report: 27th and 28th Feb. 2008

Supaul Meeting: 25th and 26th Oct. 2008

Trivenigunj Meeting: 22nd and 23rd Oct. 2008

The Jan Jagaran Abhiyan (JJA) is a nascent group working in Araria, towards creating a just and equitable society. It is led by young, committed professionals who are looking to work in the challenging socio-economic context of the state of Bihar. In it’s endeavour to reach out to the last person, the Abhiyan has found the NREGA a useful tool for mobilization. For a high out-migration district like Araria, the NREGA also promises work within the village and thus saves workers from hazards of an unknown land, gives them a chance to stay back in their village and plan for its development.

The following note is an update on and appeal for support for the Jan Jagran Abhiyan’s work on awareness building around NREGA, amongst laborers in Araria district, Bihar.

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Barh Mukti Abhiyan organised a series of workshops in 2008 (before the unprecedented floods that occurred that year) to raise awareness of the issue and educate itself. The workshop notes are a record of the actual ground level experiences, understandings/misunderstandings and conversations regarding the floods in North Bihar. The attached files below are the first set of the workshop notes. We welcome comments which will passed back to Barh Mukti Abhiyan.

Workshop notes: -

1. Bairgania Report 8 and 9th May 2008
2. Kosi Mukti Sangharsh Samiti Meeing 19th and 20th April 2008
3. Raghopur Meeting 22nd and 23rd Oct. 2008

Forwarded to the Portal by: Binu M. Nair, WaterAid

In order to sensitise people towards health and hygiene, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Government of Bihar, WaterAid and UNICEF taken up a month long Gram Gaurav Yatra to promote sanitation in Bihar. PHED Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey announced the launch of Bihar Gram Gaurav Rath Yatra on January 28 that embarked on a Movement towards the noble mission of restoring human dignity and the self-esteem of rural Indians through the “GRAM GAURAV YATRA”.

The yatra was flagged off by State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on January 28 from Rajgir in Nalanda district. During the rath yatra, which would continue till February 28 departmental secretaries and officers would travel to different places in the state to sensitise people. WaterAid India as a lead organization in this initative has developed IEC materials for raising awareness which where launched during the inauguration of the campaign. His Excellency, Governor of Bihar inaugurated the second phase of Yatra on 1s February and Hon’ble Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Raghuvansh Prasad Singh joined the yatra on 11th at Vaishali.

Read more: Gram Gaurav Yatra

Forwarded to the Portal by: Anshu Gupta, GOONJ

The following article is forwarded to the portal by Anshu Gupta, Goonj after he visited the flood - hit regions in Bihar.

Traditionally millions of people in this country survive in winters by burning wood and dry grass (mainly husk of leftovers of crops) BUT this time as the floods washed away the crops and uprooted millions of trees where’s the question of leftover dry husk ??. With little resistance left in their bodies, much less to cover themselves and without a proper shelter, the calamity is only becoming worse every day for millions of people.

While we, sitting miles away from the affected region, think Bihar was flooded months back and things would have settled down by now.. but come here and you will find hardly anything has settled down. With most agencies having winded up their work and relief camps being closed, people have been forced to go back to their villages without any infrastructure or support system.

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