River Changes Course in the Indian State of Bihar: Floods Affect Millions, Kill Thousands

Floods have been a common phenomenon all across the Indian state of Bihar - unfortunately, also the least developed region in the country. So much so that river Kosi, a major river that passes through the state is more popular as the Sorrow of Bihar. Now, this sorrow has turned into grief and a catastrophic one at that, with the river changing its course and inundating a large part of the state.

Around 15 days ago, river Kosi broke open its embankment in the Northern part of the state (bordering Nepal) to pick up a channel it had abandoned over 200 years ago, drowning towns, numerous villages and rendering over a million homeless in the process.

This is the biggest disaster in the history of independent India and by far the most challenging rescue and relief work ever carried out in the country is now under operation.

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On 18th August, 2008, three days after India celebrated 61 years of her independence, river Kosi in Bihar picked up a channel it had abandoned over 200 years ago. The river broke its embankment at Kushua in neighbouring Nepal and submerged several districts of Nepal and India. 95% of the total flow of river Kosi is now flowing through this new course. Ever since the embankment broke, water has been constantly flowing in and over 15 districts in the state of Bihar are now 8-10 feet under water.

The breach in the river embankment has not only resulted in the river changing its course, the river is now flowing through areas that have never experienced major flooding. Millions of acres of human habitation and farmlands have thus gotten submerged in the river waters displacing more than 2.5 million people in the State.

Rains and continuous water flow has also made evacuation and disaster management difficult, in a region which is otherwise the poorest in the country. When it doesn’t rain, it gets extremely hot, aggravating the suffering of the displaced population, particularly for children, pregnant and lactating women and the aged.

Roads are reported to be damaged and water and electricity supplies in the affected districts have been seriously disrupted. Railway tracks have been submerged and essential commodities, including food, are being transported by boat.

Things were never too good in the state. The politics of the state has been such that it never let it prosper and with the best minds (actually, all minds) migrating to other states and mega-cities like Delhi and Mumbai, it was always left to the short-sighted politicians and the largely uneducated and rural population. The floods have now washed a major part of the state (quite literally) as if to have cleared the slate. Hopefully, not only will Bihar get some attention but also a dedicated and much needed development policy.

Image courtesy of BiharNewsPixat Flickr under Creative Commons

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