| Bihar’s Sorrow |
It is true that Kosi, the terror of north Bihar, never ever lets people forget its presence and the people have learnt to live with its annual wrath. And as soon as the floodwater recedes they forget their troubles and begin happily to sow on a land rich in organic minerals that yields bumper crops. But what happened this time that threatened the whole of north Bihar which was almost on the verge of being submerged?
The trouble began after a massive breach took place in the Kosi embankment in Kushana in Nepal on August 18. This 400-meter breach soon widened to 2 km allowing an enormous 13 km current of swollen Kosi to flow downstream at first affecting nearly ten lakh people in Supaul, Basantpur, Pratapganj, Chattarpur, Triveniganj. And then in no time it spread to the whole of North Bihar resulting in terrible devastation, which in total affected nearly 45 lakh people. More than 25 lakh people had to take shelter on higher areas such as railway tracks, canals and rooftops struggling for survival in the absence of adequate food and other basic amenities.
But why has Kosi not been tamed so far? Ever since India gained independence, the Center and state governments have been talking of a permanent solution to this problem but besides lip service and a few halfhearted measures, the trouble has remained unresolved. The Bhimnagar barrage in Nepal, built in 1956 has long exceeded its expiry period of 30 years. In the 20 years following its expiry, the Kosi has innumerable times unleashed its ire, by damaging the weak areas of the crumbling structure! And the central and state governments, for the past 60 years have been giving false assurances to people without taking any concrete steps. And when the administration has attempted to cement the bulwarks, Nepalese populace has resorted to violence to shoo them away.
It’s true that even imagining that the entire north Bihar will be totally submerged in water and end up in history pages as a land lost to the ravages of nature is the height of pessimism in such modern times, but if the lazy, careless governments have allowed a river to become a willful aggressor in half a century, the time may not be far when the entire north Bihar will end up in a watery grave, sealing its history, its culture and the fate of its teeming millions with nature’s indurate, barbaric thumb.
Bihar’s unending sorrow »
|
|
|
