Natural Disasters

Life along the Kosi: series 1

The saying goes Eqypt is the gift of the Nile. Throughout history rivers around the world have nurtured civilisations. In India, rivers are worshipped as goddesses. But the Kosi river in Bihar is referred to as both mother and witch by the people in the region. Known for its frequent floods, the Kosi was confined within embankments soon after Independence.

DTE Staff
People collect wild sugarcane (kans) in Supaul district. It grows abundantly on the dry riverbed and flood plain. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
Weaving bamboo products is practised by many living in the Kosi area. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
Logs that drift into the river from the Himalayan slopes in Nepal are collected by boatmen near the Kosi barrage. They are sold as fuelwood in nearby villages. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
A banana plantation in one of the villages along the Kosi embankment. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
A bridge in Katihar district where the Kosi river meets the Ganga. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
Women sow maize in Khagaria in late October. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
People load their vehicles on to boats to cross the Kosi river at Dumri Ghat in Khagaria. Two bridges built here collapsed as they could not withstand the current of the Kosi and the Bagmati. The Bagmati was made to merge into the Kosi at Dumri Ghat.Credit: Vikas Choudhary
Children attend a makeshift school made with bamboo. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
Cattle rearing, along farming and fishing, is the backbone of rural economy in north-eastern Bihar. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
A homemade water purifier removes iron and other impurities with the help of sand and charcoal. People living within the embankments in Saharsa depend on groundwater that has too much iron in it. Credit: Vikas Choudhary
People carry bundles og grass on boats. Those living within the embankments have to depend on boats to go anywhere. Credit: Vikas Choudhary