Mahendra Yadav, Kosi Nav Nirman Manch, Bihar

‘World Water Day’ on 22nd March coincides with ‘Bihar Diwas’ and it speaks to our fight to keep water safe. To save water means to have water easily accessible for society; the government and the civil society should come together and make it available for every citizen: clean water, as it used to be. The market and development have led to such conditions that now water is branded and sold in packaged bottles. The rivers are held captive, and our fight is to free them.

The water we talk about today takes three physical forms: we attain the first through precipitation; the second is what we have in store, flowing in the rivers, seas or in stagnant ponds; the third is our reserve of underground water. All the three forms are in danger currently, and it is of utmost importance for us to understand that. Rain water is harvested, but we have erected establishments in the name of development projects, we emit carbon in such huge amounts that we now live in the era of global warming. Because of this our precipitation cycles have been severely disturbed, leading to unforeseen droughts and floods. The rains occur so spontaneously, that the whole tradition of water harvesting has become extinct. We built enormous dams to store water, but this development dream has had its repercussions. The story is similar for the rivers, harvested rain water, groundwater and underground water. Water in the rivers is endangered because we have built dams on them. Now we are building river fronts on Ganga in Patna, Bhagalpur and other cities in Bihar. The Ganga has several tributaries, and numerous development projects

have been undertaken on them. Much more destructive projects are operational on the Ganga in Patna at the moment. These projects are detrimental to the people.

In 2008, there was a flood when the government controlled the circulation of water on the Kosi river, in the name of development. At times water kills people, and at other times people kill for water. When there is water scarcity, people die of thirst. Flooding is in the nature of the river. When we try to hold them hostage between two dams, the rivers turn violent. And then these violent rivers cause people’s death. Death for water and death by water are what initiated the speaker’s own journey with the Kosi river. Kosi Nav Nirman Manch has been engaging with Kosi since 2008, when one of the dams collapsed. The river is one of the most sedimented in the world. It originates from China,

enters India via Nepal and merges with the Ganga. Kosi then goes through the Himalayan Ranges, and collects the silt from the rocks along with its flow. The amount of sediment found is also contributed by the height of the river, because as it flows down the mountain ranges, the water pressure enables friction to erode the rocks and form silt.

Kosi is known for its change of course. This channelling of the river in a desired direction was done to

“In 2008, there was a flood when the government controlled the circulation of water on the Kosi river, in the name of development. At times water kills people, and at other times people kill for water. When there is water scarcity, people die of thirst.

capture the river in between two dams. On 18 August 2008, the Kosi river broke its embankment for the 8th time, at Kusaha in Nepal, submerging several districts of Nepal and India. The river picked up an old channel it had abandoned over 100 years previously near the border with Nepal and India. Official records of the Bihar Government and the World Bank show that approximately 2.7 million people were affected. The fury of the Kosi River left at least 2.5 million people marooned in eight districts and inundated 650 km. Homes were wiped to the ground, people died in hundreds, went missing in thousands. This tale of how water killed people was the commencement point of the voyage for Kosi Nav Nirman Manch. The team lent a hand in the government established relief camps for displaced people. Kosi ‘Nav Nirman Manch’ was established and ‘Kosi Nav Nirman Abhiyaan’ began then. People from several social organisations from across India joined and supported the cause, providing relief work for those who had lost their homes. Then there was a long battle for the rehabilitation of the displaced. After this the government made piers for the embankments and made repairs for the 8th time, with a loan from the World Bank. The dams are repaired and restored. Between the embankments are situated 309 villages, with a population of over 9 lakhs, but no one thinks about them and every year these regions face flooding because of the river overflowing. In the name of protective dams, the government continues to introduce new projects. Nowadays building bridges is in fashion, hence many bridges are being built and guiding dams are constructed because of which the Kosi river’s course and being has turned violent and destructive.

While working with the victims of the 2008 floods, Kosi Nav Nirman Manch met with people from Supaul, who resided between the dams and tried to understand their situation. And when we see that the river bed of Kosi is elevated in comparison to the neighbouring ground. It is pretty prominent today, and anyone can see that the river bed’s height is more than the bank. Bihar faces 3 to 4 types of flooding. We need to understand that the first kind of flooding, flash flood which occurs naturally because of incessant rains.

Another aspect to note is that the areas in between the dams face floods every year. And twice of the amount that the government invests in projects to control the flooding is spent in rescuing these flooded areas. Floods occur when a dam breaks, but also they occur beyond the dams in the water-logged areas, which means that the river bed is elevated and the banks are low lying. It happens because the water cannot retreat back to the river’s course after being flushed onto the banks. This waterlogged flood prolongs for 4 to 6 months, leading to the whole region being flooded. Floods have their own nature. Sometimes they kill people, sometimes they make people lose their homes and livelihoods. People suffer indescribable pain and live through this terrible tragedy every year. The dangers of floods have not reduced. The developmental authority for Kosi was established by the government, but it is nowhere in sight. People are tired of filing RTIs, organizing ‘Maha-Panchayats’, and submitting applications to the chief minister.

Several members of NAPM wrote letters from across the nation to spread awareness about the issue. Even after all these initiatives, the dam development authorities are nowhere to be seen. In the cabinet of Bihar constituency, the cabinet minister who was chairperson formed the ‘Kosi Pidit Vikas Pradhikar’ (Kosi Victims Development Authority). People are still in search of this body, and raising questions with regard to its existence. A people’s commission was formed, which unfortunately could not become actively operational due to Covid-19.

The issue of flooding has not been resolved yet. The dams have broken 8 times owing to the floods, and they will break for the 9th and 10th time as well. The ‘Kosi Basin Project’ received 250 million dollars from the World Bank; a big part of this amount was allotted to the restoration and repairs work of the dams, and for the elevation of the embankments. Kosi Nav Nirmal Manch’s struggle is for the people who reside in between the dams, and become victims of floods. Their demand is for the government to hold the Kosi Victims’ Development Authority accountable regarding its irresponsible behaviour. Not everyone residing in between the dams was offered rehabilitation. None of the victims was compensated for the lands they lost to the floods. We are talking about a river which has high silt content flooding, which means that 6 months are lost to the flooding itself, and for the rest of the year, the farmers of the region sow their seeds with much difficulty in uneven land. “ Between the embankments are situated 309 villages, with a population of over 9 lakhs, but no one thinks about them and every year these regions face flooding because of the river overflowing. In the name of protective dams, the government continues to introduce new projects. Nowadays building bridges is in fashion, hence many bridges are being built and guiding dams are constructed because of which the Kosi river’s course and being has turned violent and destructive.

“The issue of flooding has not been resolved yet. The dams have broken 8 times owing to the floods, and they will break for the 9th and 10th time as well.

The ‘Kosi Basin Project’ received 250 million dollars from the World Bank; a big part of this amount was allotted to the restoration and repairs work of the dams, and for the elevation of the embankments.

The taxing assumed fertile land. But as they say, people are always mistreated if there is a reprehensible form of government. Things which should be held in high regard would be seen as worthless. This is the case with Kosi.

The dams have been built on the fertile land of the farmers, their farms have been wrecked, their land has been taken over for channels for the river to flow, which turns the land sandy and full of silt. And instead of being compensated for their losses, they are being taxed and asked to pay the ‘shesh’, which is a remainder of the produce in kind. There are 4 types of ‘shesh’: the first one is educational which is ironic because there are no proper facilities to impart education to the children of the region. The second one is the health ‘shesh’ ; recently the women’s wing of the organisation held a women’s forum where one of the most essential topics was that women must be vaccinated in their respective villages. The regional authorities, at their insistence, went into the villages along with samvedna and initiated the conversation regarding vaccination. But the villages situated remotely, in the

middle of the embanked areas, which do not have medical facilities are nevertheless taxed 50% of the total amount. Paying 25% for road development is a mockery as they do not have access to pakka roads. And the 20% for agricultural development is unfathomable as their land was taken away from them and destroyed completely. The government should end the ‘lagaan and shesh’ system of taxing the poor people of the region. Rules should be made, and with the ongoing land survey in Bihar, allowances should be made for the fact that these people lose their land documents in the floods every year. How are they to prove official ownership of the land? These people migrate to other states in search of livelihoods. They become day wagers in Punjab, for instance, and now, since the lockdown has been imposed, they are going through unimaginable odds. The movement of trains has been restricted in the name of Corona. People are living from hand to mouth. Whenever they are able to grow something on their lands at the outskirts, they do not receive fair prices for their produce. Development projects in Kosi have done nothing but to loot the people, especially those who live between the embankments. No vaccinations are made available, no clinics are established for the most basic necessities but the poor people are taxed for all of these. The environment which has been created

“The dams have been built on the fertile land of the farmers, their farms have been wrecked, their land has been taken over for channels for the river to flow, which turns the land sandy and full of silt. And instead of being compensated for their losses, they are being taxed and asked to pay the ‘shesh’, which is a remainder of the produce in kind.

in the name of development projects is actually reducing water harvesting. Kosi Van Nirman Manch works amongst the people, to safeguard water, and address issues related to water. It also works to save the Chanan Dam, situated in the Banka district of Bihar, which is the lifeline of Banka and Bhagalpur districts. A private company came to establish a power plant on it, and claimed that they would use only the excess water from the dam. But an investigation into their documents revealed that they had exploded the interiors of the earthen dam and built an intake well 500 ft. deep. People fought and stopped that work, and the company left. Now the government has proposed another model and research is ongoing. Water is being looted, which threatens the future of humankind. Due to scarcity, water is treated as a luxury. People suffer because their harvest is affected, some even die of thirst in some areas.