I
remember floods near Runni Saidpur
as a child growing up in 60s. It was
the same story every summer.
Unfortunately, it still is the same
story every year.
I used to wonder why does this have
to happen. I believe that we all now
know why this calamity has to visit
every year. Powerful people make
money off this. Since we are not
really a democracy - there is not a
thing common man can do to solve it.
Junior Engineers and Engineers used
to make money off this - that is why
civil engineering became such a
sought after branch in Bihar. Lots
of these CIVIL engineers have built
their big palatial homes in Patna
over past 3 decades. They also have
fortunes to pay obscene dowries to
get their daughters married to crème
level grooms - IAS officers, IPS
officers.
These civil engineers of course paid
off their big wigs. Ministers and
chief ministers made money. They
used to pass this money up the chain
all the way to prime minister's
office. The politicians in Bihar owe
their power and position to a select
few important people. Tickets for
MLA are allotted by a few people -
Indira Gandhi/Jagannath Mishra and
later by Lalu Prasad Yadav and now
may be Nitish Kumar. These tickets
have been bought off the money paid
up the chain. That is why Govt of
Bihar has done so little real work
over past 3 decades. All the
projects were done on paper and
money got actually used to do feed
up the chain. A common bihari has no
control over this. As long as MLA
owes his ticket to money paid -
nothing is going to happen.
A common Bihari does contribute to
the system by tolerating and feeding
little bits of corruption all over
the place - by taking dowry, giving
dowry, paying up bribes, social
pressures on crème de la crème to go
to civil engineering and IAS type
jobs etc.
Point is Floods will come every year
because these remain a powerful
excuse to keep the food chain
running. All the posturing and talk
by bigwigs is just that. - Sanjay
Kumar, Longmeadow, Massachusetts,
USA - Aug. 3, 2007
The
flood in Bihar is like Dussehra or
Deepawali. It would come once in
year, shake everybody and move away
only to come again next year.
The geographical location of North
Bihar is like a bowl placed near the
sliding of spring. The older were
very wise in this saying "If a kid
drops even a glass full of water in
Nepal, there would be floods in
North Bihar (...it has been changed
a little bit for social reading).
The dams and embankments can do a
bit to avoid this situation but
there are several hindrances for
these. First of all, these projects
require a huge amount of initial
investment and relocation of lakhs
of people which would be
politically, socially and
economically impossible in the
densely populated North Bihar. The
second issue is that even if the
government decides to implement
these mega projects, where are the
entrepreneurs to execute these
projects? The Enron Project has
thrown a black spot on our political
system. Everybody asked to execute
these projects would think twice
about Medha Patkar and such so
called social activists, who, just
to make their name, can bring a mega
project to halt.
Regarding politics on this issue,
well, this has been the degree of
politics in this part of the land. I
don't blame Lalu Prasad Yadav,
Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi, or
Manmohan Singh. The cruel fact is
that if words can win them elections
what's the use of working? The
people of Bihar want it this way,
they get it. - Ravish Kumar, Sr.
Software Engineer, Hyderabad - Aug.
3, 2007
You
have quite rightly echoed the
sentiments of many Biharis. The
recurrent flood problem has not got
right priority so far from the
quarters that be. It is painful to
see millions suffering every year
and the cycle is being repeated for
many years without any change.
We certainly are not living in
primitive era where every one is
left to fend for oneself. If we are
part of a welfare state then,
political leadership has to rise to
this challenge. And I totally agree
with Indra Ji (with the same
disclaimer that I am no expert on
either water management or civil
engineering) that challenge here
might be daunting but it is
certainly not insurmountable. What
is definitely missing so badly is
will power.
The cheap political bickering that
we are seeing currently in Bihar is
certainly not going to be helpful.
In fact it is adding insult to
injury. While millions are
suffering, political class is busy
in scoring cheap points in most
contemptuous ways. It is appalling
that instead of doing any
constructive and collaborative work
they are busy pulling each other
down. Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s
tirades against incumbent chief
minister are shorn of any
credibility given his own track
record on this issue.
What baffles me is the fact that
when it is well known that
devastating floods are annual
occurrence, the quite inadequate
preparedness of state govt to
respond to it in immediate terms.
That is the least any democratic
government ought to do. However real
solution lies in finding a proper
water management system which can
prevent flooding of vast stretch of
land every year. Of course it has
inter-state as well as international
dimensions. But I am sure India has
enough clout with neighbors to
convince them to join in finding a
solution (which definitely will be
mutually beneficial). What is the
use of enormous political weight
that the contingent of MPs from
Bihar have in Delhi traditionally if
they can’t get this issue
prioritized on national agenda
(current it is not even there!).
I think media should take lead in
this and make a sustained effort to
mobilize public opinion to make
governments accountable on this
crucial issue. It is high time we
get rid of our voting patterns
solely guided on caste and religious
affiliations and demand action on
this vital issue from political
class not cheap one-upmanship show
which they are displaying now.
Bihar’s economic development will be
permanently hostage to flood
problem. No one is going to invest
in a state which is submerged for
such prolonged period every year
bringing such havoc and turmoil,
that is even if we have made
substantial progress in other
infrastructure which is quite
abysmal as of yet. - Abhishek
Kumar, Chennai - Aug. 3, 2007
Apropos "Bihar Flood and its
Politics", it is necessary to note
that the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR)
plan of Government of Bihar is
different from the Central
Government's plan. Bihar plans to
link the rivers within the state but
the central government's plan
entails channeling the rivers of its
to states like Tamil Nadu. Central
plan has declared the rivers of
Bihar as surplus. Within Bihar there
is manifest political consensus on
their opposition to the central plan
so far.
There is an apprehension that the
ILR project would be pushed through
like several other projects
irrespective of public inputs making
a farce of democratic process. It
may be noted that academia and civil
society representatives across South
Asia have opined that there is no
need for Interlinking of Rivers,
what is needed is people centered
local water solutions that can solve
the real needs of the people. In
fact the proposal has been termed
ecologically disastrous.
When Ganga is water deficit
according to the controversial
Indo-Bangladesh water treaty, how
can it be shown as water surplus in
the new plan, questions Ramaswamy
Iyer, former water resources
secretary. He said, all future
studies are suspect since government
is not at all transparent about it.
No area of the country needs such
schemes for water needs. It has
emerged from the seminars across the
country that there is no real need
for this project. The consensus is
that there were better options to
the gigantic project.
The political consensus on the issue
of interlinking of rivers is a myth.
Already states like Assam, Bihar,
Kerala, Punjab, Orissa, Goa, W
Bengal and Maharashtra have raised
objections to it. Its a populist
plan that will drag the country into
severe debt, he remarked.
In total absence of any credible
Post facto assessment of any of the
water resources development project
over the past there is no
accountability.
It has been pointed out that the ILR
project is in contravention of the
spirit of National Water policy
since the policy states that: "There
is an urgent need of paradigm shift
in the emphasis on the management of
water resources sector. From the
present emphasis on the creation and
expansion of water resources
infrastructure for diverse use,
there is now a need to give greater
emphasis on the improvement of the
performance of the existing water
resources facilities".
There is an inherent contradiction
and confusion in the government's
stance. The fact that the Prime
Ministers who have talked about
harvesting every drop of rain are
all set on pursuing the gigantic ILR
scheme raises doubts if the govt is
really interested in solving
country's water problems or is it
just working in the interest of
contractors - engineers -
consultants - bureaucrats -
politicians nexus.
The project cannot translate into
reality and will lead to
corporatisation of water once
industrialists invest money and
water will become a commodity. It
has been opined that more than
ecological it would be a great
economic disaster. Therefore,
instead of grandiose schemes there
is a need to concentrate on
sensible, locally feasible
value-for-money investments like:
1. De-silting existing dams to
increase their capacity.
2. Make investments on canal lining,
piping and other command area
development measures.
3. Reduce crop acreage and increase
forest cover by giving specific
subsides and employment to affected
farmer families.
4. Local irrigation efforts
including ponds, borewell etc.
Sane voices like "Decision making on
such issue require specific and
decentralised database. If one can
put a corrupt-free decision making
body in place which can accurately
assess and speedily take investment
proposals, there could be rapid
progress with low gestation and high
returns payoff." have largely been
ignored by media.
Dr D K Mishra, a well known voice of
sanity and an engineer himself has
pointed out micro-details of why
Flood problem of Bihar or any other
place can not be solved by
Interlinking of Rivers. A Report of
the Expert Committee to study impact
of interlinking of river on Bihar
(April 2005, Chapter III, p-16)
says, '…But the proposed Sapta Kosi
Dam too has not been provided with
any flood cushion which should be
provided for flood moderation…'
Regarding the proposed Nunthore Dam
on the Bagmati, the Second Bihar
Irrigation Commission Report says,
'…it appears clearly that even after
the construction of dam at Nunthore,
there would be no appreciable flood
moderation in the middle and lower
reaches of the Bagmati and obviously
further supplementary floods
managements measures would be
needed' (Vol. V Part-1, p-414). A
recent report of Water Resources
Department of Government of Bihar
(May 2006) observes that '…but none
of these schemes could come up as
yet, and in near future also there
is little hope of execution of these
schemes (Chapter-V, p-1).' Thus,
there is neither any flood cushion
provided in the design of the
proposed dams nor there is any
likelihood of the dams being built
in near future.
Narrating the goings on at a seminar
organized by the Water Resource
Development Centre of Patna
University, Dr Mishra recollects how
the Water Resource Secretary of the
Government of Bihar had
categorically said that, given the
resources available with the
Government, there was no possibility
of a dam being built on the Kosi at
Barahkshetra in the coming 50-60
years. This seminar was discussing
the flood problem of the state and
was attended by all the 'Who is who'
of the technical fraternity of the
state that included the many Chief
Engineers of the Water Resources
Department of Bihar. If that be so,
the question is whether there is any
interim plan to face the floods if
the construction of the proposed
dams in Nepal is not likely to be
started in coming 50-60 years and
even if it does, it will take
another 15-20 years to complete the
same so that the benefits of flood
control could be tapped. The answer
is-no. - Gopal Krishna,
WaterWatch, New Delhi - Aug.
6, 2007
It is in relation to Mr Gopal
Krishna's submission on the topic
Bihar Flood and its Politics. I take
that his views are authoritative as
he knows the subject better. I am
sure policy makers can use all the
expertise that we have on this
subject to arrive at the best way
possible to have a lasting solution
to this issue.
If authorities have will, there are
experts in this area and a consensus
on action plan on saving Bihar (or
for that matter entire east India)
from this recurring problem can be
charted out. The saddest thing is
that in a week in which we are going
to celebrate 60th year of our
Independence there is no plan not
even a ground work to tackle a
problem! Shall this not be counted
as one of the big failures of Indian
state? Just categorizing it as a 'prakritik
vipada' and doing ad hoc and quite
inadequate relief work is far from
satisfactory. Instead of being in
reactionary mode to meet this
challenge state has to be in
proactive mode to give respite to
its citizens by taking appropriate
long term measures.
I come back again on the aspect of
how political class in general has
not prioritized this issue and
electorates have failed themselves
by not asking their elected
representatives to be accountable on
this issue. I remember that a few
elections back Mr Lalu Yadav had
lost Madhepura Lok Sabha seat to Mr
Sharad Yadav. Political analysts
were of the view that complete
negligence of Madhepura when it was
ravaged by floods from Kosi was one
of the main reasons for even his
trusted vote bank turning against
him! We surely need more of this and
that would be very effective way to
force political class in general to
be sensitive towards this issue.
The other aspect is a long term
vision and will to resolve it. Can
incumbent chief minister who himself
has an engineering background can
take lead in this area? Find the
best possible solution to this
problem and galvanize the state
machinery to act on that? Our
political class needs to bury their
hatchet on such vital issue and work
in tandem in mobilizing their cadres
and the people to act at local level
in efficient water management which
is ecologically correct? Can we make
beginning on this (albeit late) on
this 60th year of independence? -
Abhishek Kumar, Chennai - Aug.
6, 2007
The technical know-hows of the
problem has been addressed well by
Gopal Krishnaji. Many many thanks to
him. In fact I felt little happier
after reading that the problem can
be addressed even without urgent
need of grandiose investment and the
problem can be checked by several
locally feasible steps which again
needs money and a vision.
This also shows the need of
institutions which are there to
guide us of the technical aspects.
Had Gopal Krishnaji not addressed
us, this discussion would have again
become a common discussion without
proper direction. Today every common
man in Bihar is discussing the topic
with apt seriousness but the content
of information is less as compared
to other developed states. Even our
politicians are also not so aware of
the technical issues of the problem.
I personally feel that there is a
great need of some research
institute in Bihar which will be
studying exclusively flood problem
only. At least it will provide
direction to the government and
media. It's difficult for even
concerned politicians like Nitish
Kumar to take correct decisions when
there are handful of not-so-well
trained engineers of differing
opinions to give suggestions. Again
as Gopalji pointed out, there may be
hidden motives behind those
suggestions.
I request Gopalji and others to
please send their articles in Hindi
dailies also which are circulated
widely in Bihar. At least people
will be informed a bit more to
arrive at better demands when
politicians come to their door on
next election.
Thanks to Indraji for starting the
discussion. - Abhay Kumar,
Research Scholar, IIT Bombay - Aug.
8, 2007
I
would like to take opportunity to
appeal you all to do something to
help the people of Bihar to fight
the worst ever flood. I think it's
time to do whatever possible rather
just to talk about Bihar.
I would like to know if anyone has
information about Chief Minister
Flood relief fund or any other NGO
working in relief operation, kindly
pass that to me.
Once again I would like to request
PatnaDaily readers to be active at
this time of crisis. Jai Hind -
Alok Nandan - Aug. 8, 2007
After reading this article I have
found that you are not ready to
accept the criminal neglect of Mr.
Nitish Kumar.
I think no one can imagine about a
CM, who gives priority to his
foreign trip in place of saving
thousands of lives in such crisis.
So far as Mr. Lalu Prasad or Mr. Ram
Vilas Paswan is concerned, both of
them are serving Bihari people in
this crisis. Therefore I think
Indira is working like an agent of
NDA, that NDA which is still busy in
his political game. - Nawal
Kishore Kumar, Patna - Aug.
13, 2007
In my view Nitish Kumar has done
wonderful job by visiting Mauritius.
The flood is a recurring problem and
the problem cannot be tackled
overnight. In the absence of CM,
deputy CM and bureaucrats are there
to look after the problem. Nitish
Kumar should move forward for larger
interest of the state. His mere
presence, lectures and helicopter
rides will not resolve the crisis.
Let the Lalu clan enjoy the
helicopter excursion, after all they
habituated sky-tripping with the
“Udan Khatola” during the same
period un-interrupted for last 15
years. For Lalu & Co., rainy season
in Bihar is cashing and honeymoon
period with free helicopter ride
having wife by his side. Underneath
view is full of water with greenery.
Whatever this guy says to media, but
it seems he enjoys sky-venture
during this scenic period of Sawan.
Don’t forget the involvement of Lalu
khandan on looting food relief fund
during their regime. - Ram
Parshuram - Aug. 17, 2007 |
