• UNPARDONABLE FLAWS
AND DISCREPANCIES IN THE ROLE OF THE CENTRAL AND
BIHAR GOVERNMENT IN MANAGING THE TERRIBLE DISASTER CAUSED BY THE KOSHI
EMBANKMENT BREACH AND THE RIVER CHANGING ITS COURSE
• INDEPENDENT JUDICIAL INQUIRY IS INDISPENSABLE TO
PROBE INTO AND ANALYSE THE CAUSES OF THIS CALAMITY
• STOP ENTANGLING AND INTERFERING WITH THE NATURAL
FLOWS OF THE RIVERS OF NORTH BIHAR
The greed and ignorance of those in power, who typically interfered
with the changed natural flow of the ‘sapta Koshi’ (seven streams) and
its 60 tributaries by erecting embankments, playing the politics of
large dams, has resulted in the displacement, starvation, deprivation
and even death of many of the 25-30 lakh people in Bihar. The Koshi
calamity is illustration of the catastrophic impacts on the lives and
livelihood of people and the natural resources that would accrue out of
any such meddling with rivers, duping people in the garb of
‘development’.
As in Supoul, even today, thousands of people in large numbers in
village after village are seeking haven on rooftops and canals, whether
in Purlia, the hamlets and villages of Madhupura and towns like
Muraliganj already buried under water, clinging to whatever little –
cattle or resources - that has been salvaged.
Citizens initiatives and civil society groups were the first to reach
out and even today many small groups and villagers are supporting the
calamity–affected. The role and response of the ‘State’ is admittedly
very haphazard and at once insensitive. This has become very clear to
everyone.
Not a few tens, not even hundreds, no one is sure about the total
number of people whose lives have been lost in the calamity. That our
state and society does not have the strength to save these thousands,
for almost 20 days, is not just shocking but deeply agonizing. From
what has been happening in Bihar since the floods, we are convinced
that not just right to life and livelihood of lakhs of people, but even
basic Constitutional guarantees and rights to food as sustained in the
orders of the Supreme Court of India are made funny and trivialised.
Though, for the time being, the intervention by the civil society and
the state is, to a limited extent, bringing above a change in the
situation, we do expect the state to play a more pro-active role, with
diligence and sensitivity with better and co-ordinated planning and
public participation, instituting a function and effective grievance
redressal and problem solving mechanism so that at least the minimum
goods and right of people are delivered.
Though the Prime Minister has announced a relief of Rs 1000 crores and
made available 1.5 lakh tonnes of food grains to Bihar Government, the
role of Centre does not end by this. That no Central Ministerial and
monitoring team, assisted by a Central Expert Committee has been
constituted or operationalised as mandated by the National Disaster
Management Act, 2005 and National Disaster Policy, is a grave blunder,
more particularly since of displacement and devastation of the lives of
lakhs of people, is colossal.
This only explains the incapacity of the ‘State’. The inordinate delay
and incomplete delivering of the food grains provided by the Centre
reaching to hundreds of villages, is simply incomprehensible. What is
the reason behind the state not co-opting and involving the civil
society, even today, in ensuring the central grants reaching into all
the villages. It is absolutely essential that a functional and
accessible Public Distribution System is immediately put in place so
that the state makes available adequate quantity of its food grains and
Kerosene at all non-governmental relief camps. The aerial dropping of
food packets, having proved to be unsuccessful and even physically
dangerous at places, it is necessary that some other method be
used instead and the number of boats be increased even to reach out
with food supplies, to all those who are still there in the villages.
Having listened to hordes of rescued villagers, fuel is an urgent need
for a well-planned and well-mannered boat-use system. All necessary
things should be at all rescue points, which are effective
guidance-support centres that could co-ordinate with every relief camp.
Except for the provision that every affected family be provided house
plots and limited food grains as per the guidelines of the National
Calamity Relief Fund, it is quite apparent that the Government of Bihar
does not, till date, have any concrete policy for those displaced by
floods and calamities. Nonetheless, the rulers can escape from their
responsibility of providing compensation and alternative livelihood to
almost half of the population in Bihar that has been affected by the
floods.
This in fact is the time for the process of formulation of a State
Rehabilitation Policy for all those affected and displaced, to be
started immediately.
Even as this life and death struggle continues, an open and informed
debate about the reasons behind the Koshi disaster must also go on.
This must also be in the contest of the official lackadaisical response
and indulgence between the 6th -18th August, as also the
non-implementation of the Indo-Nepal agreement on Koshi. Going beyond
the statement of engineer Satyanarayan, full information relating to
the management the Koshi river, status of the embankment in the
previous year, its monitoring and maintenance and all agreements and
correspondence between the Government of Bihar and the Centre,
as also between the Governments of Nepal and India and all related
information must be placed before the people at the earliest. To
objectively investigate into and evaluate a disaster of this kind, a
high level judicial commission must be urgently constituted. If the
Government does not do this on its own volition, the Judiciary of this
country should step in and do the needful. It is also necessary that
the National Human Rights Commission intervene into this colossal human
disaster, which was not happened till date and is quite saddening.
The government of Bihar must, at least by now, concede to its folly of
considering high dams, embankments and having a sustainable
solution, by entangling the Koshi natural flows, which is replete with
water and catchments. The people of Bihar must quickly initiate an open
and informed dialogue on
alternatives. A decentralized policy of flood management (as against
flood control) by effective co-ordination between the Governments and
people of Nepal, that would treat the land, water and green belt must
be and is the immediate need. The movements and experts need to be
involved in the process of any such alternative policy.
http://loksamitee.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/update-on-the-flood-situation-in-bihar/
