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Flood victims suffering hardships due to land erosion caused by the changing course of the Kosi river in Bihar’s Supaul district, have continued their protest against the Union government’s Kosi-Mechi River Linking Project.
The Mechi is a tributary of the Mahananda, and there are plans to link it with the Kosi to reduce flooding in the area.
The Centre, in the recently concluded Budget session, had announced an allocation of Rs 11,500 crore, claiming that this would aid flood control efforts in Bihar. The government stated that the funds would be used for the Kosi-Mechi River Linking Project, as well as for flood control measures and irrigation projects in the states.
Documents available on the National Water Development Agency’s website under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (water resources) reveal that the Kosi-Mechi River Linking Project is not for flood control but for irrigation purposes,
Mahendra Yadav, an activist from the Kosi Nav Nirman Manch — an organisation that works to safeguard the interests of Kosi flood victims, told Down To Earth (DTE).
Yadav explained that only 5,247 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of additional water will be released from the barrage after the project is completed; whereas the barrage is designed to handle a discharge of 900,000 cusecs.
“Therefore, how will a mere reduction of 5,247 cusecs of water stop flooding?” he argued.
The project aims to provide irrigation support to 215,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Mahananda river basin during the Kharif season.
Yadav also questioned how much water will be needed in that region during the monsoon, given that the area often faces flood-like conditions.
Meanwhile, as always, villagers living between embankments are once again suffering from the erosion of their lands on which they depend for their livelihoods. Those whose houses have been destroyed by the erosion are forced to wander from place to place. Additionally, the crops of moong (green gram) and paddy in these embankment areas have been inundated.
The affected villagers have been on continuous protest, demanding that the erosion be declared a disaster and that the victims be resettled.
Yadav stated that 12 demands have been submitted to the administration. These include setting up community kitchens, providing Rs 7,000 as free assistance (GR) to flood victims, counting all families deprived of rations, demanding grants for crop losses to farmers, arranging boats, mobile dispensaries, and other immediate needs.
Additionally, long-standing demands from the flood victims include provisions for rehabilitation and land revenue waivers for up to four hectares.