|
Kosi basin turning into a desert after the massive breach in the river embankment in August 2008.
|
Sharad Yadav seeks higher relief for flood-hit Bihar
New Delhi,December 22, 2008 (PTI): Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav on
Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand a special package for the flood-hit people of North
Bihar.
In his memorandum to the Prime Minister, he demanded immediate release of Calamity Relief Funds to the state and adequate assistance for building of houses damaged by flood waters of river Kosi during the recent floods.
Interactive session on Kosi floods
PATNA, December 18, 2008 :An interactive session on "Kosi Breach and Beyond" on Wednesday discussed the aftermath of the devastations wreaked by the river. "During the last 45 years, Kosi
embankments were breached eight times and the breach in Kusha would not be the last," said flood expert Dinesh Mishra. He pointed out that due to siltation and rise in the level of the river bed, the government would no longer be in a position to plug the breaches. "However, for the time being there is no alternative but to plug the breach and maintain the status quo," he stressed.
Bihar,
Deceber 12, 2008: Bihar Government made a strong pitch before the 13th Finance Commission for Rs 4.18 lakh crore for
all-round development of the state. The government representatives made a presentation before a delegation of
Finance Commission, headed by its chairman Vijay Kelkar.
MP Pappu Yadav gives Rs 4 crores for floods from Tihar jail
NEW DELHI, 20 Nov 2008: The jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Pappu Yadav, who shelled out Rs 4 crores from his parliamentarian fund when others like BJP's L.K.
Advani and Cogress's Rahul Gandhi gave nothing. Pappu Yadav, who is in Tihar Jail for murder, was responding to an appeal by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and
Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Sep 3 asking MPs to contribute Rs 1 million each from the
MPLADS
towards relief and rehabilitation in flood-hit Bihar.
Under the scheme, each MP has Rs 20 million to spend on developments works in the constituency every year.
Chatterjee and Ansari also appealed to MPs to donate one month's salary for the cause.
The Janata Dal- United's (JD-U) Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar Mahendra Prasad is the second highest contributor with Rs 20 million.
According to the list published on the parliament website, 153 of the 543 members of the Lok Sabha responded positively to the call for help, less than
one- third of the total strength of the house. The Rajya Sabha fared better with more than half the members-147 of 250, contributing money from their funds.
New Delhi, November 15, 2008 (IANS):
Art has brought Rs.40 million for flood victims of
Bihar. Thirty-one leading contemporary artists brought together by Subodh Gupta
and Bharati Kher have raised more than Rs.39.3 million through the Artists
Flood Relief Charity Auction held Nov 11-12 by Saffronart.
New Delhi, October 20, 2008 (PTI):
India and Nepal have decided to extend embankments on four rivers which flow into the country in the wake of devastation
caused by Kosi river, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.The two countries are working together to extend embankments on Lal
Bakeya, Bagmati, Kamla and Khando rivers in Nepal.
New Delhi, October 19, 2008 (PTI): Engineers from public and private sectors
would work together to meet a tight deadline of five months to plug the breaches in the embankment of Kosi river which unleashed the worst
ever floods in Bihar's history.
The work is likely to begin in November with a deadline to complete the 'mission' by the end of March, 2009.
The entire project is likely to cost around Rs 700 crore with the
Centre bearing entire cost.
New Delhi, September 28, 2008 (PTI):
Senior officials of India and Nepal will meet in Kathmandu tomorrow to look at long-term solutions to the recurring problem besides exploring ways to better utilise the common river waters. The Joint Committee on Water Resources, which last met four years ago, will discuss various issues, including project reports on two upcoming dams in Nepal and means to control floods.
KATHMANDU, September 25, 2008:
Due to India's failure to maintain the Kosi embankment that resulted in a devastating flood last
month in southern Nepal and India's Bihar state, the Nepal republic is now blaming India for a fresh deluge in the
western region that has killed over 30 and rendered thousands homeless. Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev
Gautam, told the media that the havoc was caused by the Indian authorities' refusal to open the gates of the Kailashpuri barrage.
New Delhi, September, 22, 2008 (PTI):
The recent floods in Kosi river and several
irrigation and hydel power projects pending at various stages would
be discussed between India and Nepal at the maiden meeting of Joint
Committee on Water Resources at Kathmandu next week. The Joint
Committee, which last met in 2004, was reactivated during the recent
visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda.
September
08, 2008:
Hundreds of thousands of Indian flood refugees are likely to
spend six months in state-run relief camps while authorities rebuild homes,
roads and embankments in the flood- ravaged north, officials said Monday.
More than 257,000 people have taken shelter in 313 state-run camps in Bihar
state, where the Kosi River burst its banks last month and turned hundreds of
square miles of land into a giant lake. The state's CM. Nitish Kumar, said the relief camps would run
for another six months.
|
|
|
|
One year after the Kusaha breach
August 25, 2009: There was no end to the miseries of people in the Kosi Basin as the river used
to change its course. It is a vibrant river and used to inflict immense losses
in the districts of Purnea and Saharsa. All that is history now. On August 18, 2008, when the Kosi breached its
eastern afflux bundh at Kusaha in Nepal, the floodwaters engulfed 35 blocks and 993 villages spread over five districts. Nearly 3.3
million people and 3.68 lakh hectares were trapped in floods; 2.34 lakh houses
were destroyed and 527 persons died in the disaster. This was the eighth incident of its kind in the past 45 years. There is no
reason for people to be complacent about the cover provided by the Kosi
embankment, as the threat of a breach continues to loom large. In a similar
incident on the Kosi’s eastern embankment in 1984, the river wiped out 11
villages in Navhatta block of Saharsa district and engulfed 196 villages in
seven blocks of Saharsa and Supaul districts of north Bihar. The floodwaters
spread over 67,000 hectares and 4.58 lakh people were rendered homeless. They
sheltered on the remaining portion of the embankment for more than six months. |
The Kusaha breach was plugged in the month of May this year at an estimated cost
of Rs 143.42 crore, approved by the Centre, which sanctioned Rs 1,010 crore for
emergency relief after the breach was declared a national calamity on August 28,
2008. The state government reportedly mobilised an equal amount for relief and
many NGOs did their own bit. Despite all these inputs, the state needs another
Rs 14,800 crore to bring back the victims and the state economy on the rails. It
is time to do the sums on the benefits of the Kosi Project.
|
|
India, Nepal discuss Kosi havoc, agree for 24-hr monitoring
Kathmandu, July 12, 2009 (PTI): Concerned over the havoc caused by the Kosi river floods, Nepal and India have agreed to take effective measures to minimise damage on both sides of the border.
Indian Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Banshal
yesterday called on Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to discuss the issues relating to Kosi barrage, PM's Foreign Affairs Advisor Rajan Bhattarai said on Sunday.
Patna,
April 25, 2009: Kosi basin turning into a desert after the massive breach in the river embankment in August 2008. The silver white colour of the sand in the vast area of the Kosi basin now is similar to that of the sand in Jaisalmer
in Rajasthan.
The Kosi, known as ‘River of Sorrow’, had in August 2008 left Bihar with the biggest ever flood disaster that spread over 3.68
lakh hectares of land besides affecting about 33 lakh people. Lack of
coodination among the various departments in the government has left the repair
works far from completed.
Madhepura (Bihar), February 28, 2009: The Bihar government has
taken a vow to turn the flood-ravaged Kosi region into a prosperous zone, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
said on Saturday. The fields of farmers whose fertile land had been filled with sand would be
adequately compensated and effort would be made to remove the sand from their
fields, Kumar told a gathering here.
New Delhi, February 24, 2009 (PTI):
The breach in river Kosi, which had resulted in a devastating flood in Bihar last year, has been repaired and the river is now flowing along its original course, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. "The breach section has been closed and the barrage is raised upto a level of 82.50 meter in the first phase work on February 16 this year," Union Minister of State for
Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav said in a written reply.
Kathmandu, January 27, 2009 (PTI):
Saptakosi river, which broke its embankment in Nepal last year and displaced millions of people in the Terai plains and the Indian state of Bihar, has been put back on its original course after combined efforts of engineers from the two neighbouring countries, officials said on Tuesday. The Saptakosi river in eastern Nepal near the Indian border has been put back on its original course after repair works in the cofferdams has been completed, according to Water Resources Ministry officials here. India and Nepal came together to complete the work of repairing the embankment of Kosi river, which breached and triggered massive floods in the bordering areas of the two countries.
PATNA, January 1, 2009:
The state water resources department has given administrative and financial approval to 316 anti-erosion and flood protection schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 117
crore. This was stated by the department's minister Bijendra Prasad
Yadav. He said chief engineers have been instructed to ensure that the schemes are completed before the floods next year.
Kosi flood victims protest in Bihar, demand more relief
Patna,December 29, 2008 (IANS): The flood-hit victims of Bihar Monday blocked roads and railway lines to protest against the inadequate assistance provided by the state government to them. Thousands of victims from the districts of Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul disrupted normal life at different places. They were reportedly led by the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M).
"Thousands of flood victims have blocked national highways in Saharsa and railways in Supaul. This has badly hit normal life,"
official sources said. More than three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar when the Kosi river breached its bank upstream in Nepal and changed course Aug 18. Large tracts of land were flooded, forcing people to flee their homes.
They were then forced to live along the roads under the open sky without food, clothes and drinking water or in the relief camps set up by the state government. |
A tribute to the
victims of Kosi river on the day of Diwali. At the time of
celebrating happy Diwali this year on
28th Oct. 2008, the calamity
of river Kosi has been virtually ignored by Govt., people, most international humanitarian aid
agencies, and even national relief organisations. Its untamed waters swept away more than 300,000 houses in 980 villages in the
districts of Bihar. It destroyed standing crops of paddy, wheat and vegetables in 110,000 hectares of fertile
land.
|
|
Kosi River
( कोसी नदी)
The Kosi River
( कोसी नदी) is one of the largest tributaries of the
Ganga River . Kosi river is called Koshi in Nepal and is a Tran boundary
river between Nepal and India. The river basin is surrounded by the ridges separating it from the Brahmaputra in the north, the Gandaki in the west,
the Mahananda in the east, and by the Ganga in the south. Kamlā, Bāghmati (Kareh) and Budhi Gandak are major tributaries
of Koshi in India, besides minor tributaries like Bhutahi Balān. Over the
last 250 years, the Kosi River has shifted its course over 120 kilometres
from east to west. The Kosi River (The Sorrow of Bihar) is one of two major tributaries, the other river being
Gandak, draining the plains of north Bihar, the most flood-prone area of
India. This river is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata as Kauśiki. |
The Kosi River
( कोसी नदी) is one of the largest tributaries of the
Ganga River .
|
|
The
Kosi river has seven major tributaries. These tributaries encircle Mt Everest from all sides and are fed by the world's highest glaciers.
After descends from the mountains they merge and called simply the
Koshi. After flowing 58 km in Nepal, it enters the north Bihar plains near Bhimnagar and after another 260 km
, flows into the Ganges near Kursela. The river travels a distance of 729 km
from its source to the confluence with the Ganga.
The Kosi river fan located in northeast Bihar and eastern
Mithila is 180 km long and 150 km -wide alluvial cone shows evidence of lateral channel shifting exceeding 120
km during the past 250 years through more than 12 distinct channels. The
river, which used to flow near Purnea in the 18th century, now flows west of
Saharsa.
Two famous national parks are located in the Koshi river basin: the Sagarmatha
National Park, in eastern Nepal and the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve situated
in Eastern Nepal. Sagarmatha National park is located in eastern
Nepal is also included as a UNESCO world heritage site, was created on
July 19, 1976. |
|
|
Kosi River- The Sorrow of Bihar
The Kosi is known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” when it flows from
Nepal to India, as it has caused widespread human suffering in the past through
flooding and very frequent changes in course. The Kosi Barrage has been designed for a peak flood of 27,014 m³/s
Kosi Barrage, also called Bhimnagar Barrage after the name of the place where it
was built between the years 1959 and 1963 straddles the Indo-Nepal border. It is
an irrigation, flood control and hydropower generation project on the Kosi river
built under a bilateral agreement between Nepal and India: the entire cost of
the project was borne by India. The catchment area of the river is 61,788
sq.km in Nepal at the Barrage site.
On August 18,
2008, the Kosi river picked up an old channel it had abandoned
over 100 years ago near the border with Nepal and India. Nearly 27
lakhs people were reported affected as the river broke its embankment at
Kusaha in Nepal, thus submerging several districts of Nepal and India.
The worst affected districts included Supaul, Araria,
Saharsa,Madhepura, Purnia, Katihar, parts of Khagaria and northern parts of
Bhagalpur, as well as adjoing
regions of Nepal. The floods caused by the breach in the eastern afflux embankment at upstream Kuaha village in Nepal on August 18 is the worst in the
region.
|
IAF helicopters and army columns deployed to assist the relief and evacuation operations.
The Kosi Barrage: The Dam built on the Kosi river in Nepal has now become old and ill maintained.
So it has now become essential to build more bigger dam in Bihar compared to
Nepal to prevent such calamity.
|
|
Over 30 lakh people in 16 districts are in the grip of floods, with 23 lakh in worst-hit Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura and Araria districts alone. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said five army columns have been pressed into service for relief and rescue, while the state has requisitioned 25 more columns.
Large areas remain totally submerged, with reports suggesting that some villages have simply been washed away by strong currents. Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced in neighbouring Nepal, where some of those who have lost their homes are camping under plastic sheets.
IAF helicopters and army columns deployed to assist the state
government's flood fighting machinery continued relief and
evacuation operations. Though Disaster Management Additional Secretary Pratayaya Amrit said while over 4.75 lakh people have been evacuated, lakhs more were in dire need of being shifted to safer places. Amrit said about two lakh people were taking shelter in 17 relief camps set up by the state governments and many more being run by non-government organisations (NGOs).
While Bihar's key political parties, Nitish Kumar-led ruling Janata Dal (United) and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) - are at each other’s throat for the worst-ever
floods in the state, experts say the fragile relations between India and Nepal are the root cause of the catastrophe.
|
|
|
The damage to nearly 1,250 miles of highways and 250 road bridges was estimated
around $523 million. Already, hundreds of cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and high fevers have been
reported in relief camps. Doctors started immunization drives over the weekend
to counter fears that waterborne diseases will spread as the number of camp
residents grow.
Due the current
floods in Kosi river, the situation in Bihar is the worst witnessed for
hundreds of
years. People's dead bodies are floating in the water along with the corpses of cattle. People are forced to drink that same water. Hundreds of thousands have become homeless.
Survivors have taken shelter in government schools, colleges, railway stations and bus stands. But there are still more than 500,000 people to be rescued. They are on the roofs of concrete buildings like school buildings and other elevated places. They are crying in the wilderness.
The entire affected area appears like a lake 125 km long by 25km wide. This used to be a
prosperous area of Bihar. Seven districts have been particularly badly affected with nearly
50-75% of Madhepura district drowned completely and Supaul district also suffering. Whole towns and villages have
drowned; railway stations, roads, bridges, government buildings, the entire administrative apparatus of places have been wiped out.
Government engineers were digging a new channel to correct the course of the
Kosi River — which flows from neighboring Nepal — and plug the mile-long breach
in embankment. They also have started repairing roads to allow faster
movement of relief supplies in the region.
Authorities have confirmed 42 deaths, but it is widely believed the final toll
will be much higher. Rescue workers have evacuated 914,000 people from nearly 1,000 flooded villages.
But with river levels falling by more than two feet over the last few days, more
than 30,000 have returned to their homes - ignoring official warnings that their homes were still not
safe. Another 50,000 people have refused to abandon their homes in flood-hit areas
despite pleas by authorities to evacuate.
About 300,000 homes were destroyed after the Kosi river, which originates in
Nepal, burst a dam last month and caused the worst floods in Bihar in 50 years.
Officials said 22 bodies were found as water receded in flood- hit Madhepura on
September 11, raising the death toll from the floods in Bihar to 130.
The floods also forced nearly four million people from their homes and destroyed
100,000 ha (250,000 acres) of farmlands, an official said. Tens of thousands of people are living in government relief camps that aid
agencies say lack adequate facilities. The state government is also setting up
temporary schools at relief camps for children living there.
Task Force chairman SC Jha criticised the bureaucrats in the Union water resources and finance ministries.
He said it would cost at least Rs 50,000 crore to rebuild the five affected districts as the Kosi fury was worse than Tsunami, which had occurred in December 2004, as it has brought to
naught all the infrastructure in health, education and railways in the five districts.
International Help
On September 17, 2008, UK announced a grant of one million pounds for the relief of those affected by the Kosi river floods in Bihar. This is in addition to the 150,000 pounds announced earlier by the British government.
Madhepura September 21, 2008 (PTI): Relief materials worth over Rs two lakh
meant for distribution among the flood victims of worst hit Madhepura district were lost when a country made boat carrying
govt. officials and relief materials overturned near Mojama village in Kosi river, official sources said today.
Kathmandu, Sept. 20, 2008 (ANI): Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that Indian Army personnel came with permission for
the inspection of the damaged Kosi embankments. Clearing the confusion after some
political parties protested against their visit, the Ministry said that the visit of Indian army personnel was coordinated by the Nepal Government.
September
18 , 2008:
India and Nepal agreed to check recurrence of floods in Kosi river and
putting on fast track projects to utilise water for irrigation and power
generation, top officials of the two neighbours will meet this month in
Kathmandu to streamline the process. The Joint Committee on Water Resources, which last met in 2004, will meet again in the Nepalese capital on September 29 and 30 to discuss various issues,
including project reports on two upcoming dams in Nepal and means to control
floods.
September
17 , 2008: India and Nepal today decided to establish a number of
mechanisms, including a minister-level Joint River Committee, to avert such calamities in future. The two sides also decided to
reactivate a secretary- level joint committee and set up eight technical
committees which will be in regular touch over various issues
concerning sharing of common river waters.
September 16, 2008:
Multiplicity of authority and delay by bureaucrats at the Centre have hindering repair work of the embankment on the Kosi river which has already caused losses worth Rs 50,000 crore in five districts of Bihar, the Special Task Force on Bihar, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said.
Patna,
Sept 13, 2008: Authorities fighting floods in Bihar
urged thousands of villagers to leave their homes on Saturday after rains caused
flood waters to rise.
PATNA,
Sept. 12, 2008
On Friday, at least 300 villagers blocked roads and shouted slogans demanding
better food in Madhepura district of the flood-hit eastern state of
Bihar.
Patna,
Sept. 11, 2008: Rajesh
Balia, a former chief justice of the Patna High Court, will conduct the
judicial probe into the breach in the Kosi embankment. The Bihar government appointed the one-man inquiry commission on
Wednesday
night. ”A notification to this effect has been issued,” a source in the chief
minister's office said.
Kathmandu, Sept. 11 (PTI) Ahead of Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda's visit to India, a key partner in the coalition government has demanded the scrapping of the "unequal" 1954 Kosi Agreement.
|
|
|
