Dead end

Though floods are an annual affair here, the debate over a possible solution still goes on. The government believes the solution lies in taming the rivers, but others say it lies in letting the rivers flow free. The state believes the only ‘‘long-term solution’’ is a dam on the Kosi river in Nepal which will cost more than 10 times the state’s annual plan outlay.

‘‘We will use the Rs 30 crore allotted in the Union Budget for flood control to initiate work. That is the only solution for Bihar’s floods,’’ Railway Minister and RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav said. But scientists say this is impossible given the geological instability in the Himalayan region. They say that the solution lies in disentangling the obstruction to natural water flow by road, rail and, ironically, river embankments.

‘‘Embankments are the cause of, not the solution to, floods,’’ said Ranjeev of the Kosi Anchal Vikas Nidhi.

‘‘The river bed rises due to heavy silt and the embankments do not rise proportionally. In any case, the embankments prevent the water from draining into rivers, aggravating the problem.’’

When their was no obstruction in the path of the river, floods did not last for many days. ‘‘It would deposit fertile silt and recede in a day or two. The farmers were used to it and were happy,’’ said Ranjeev. However, building embankments became the focus of flood control policy of the government.

‘‘Despite the apparent demerits of embankments, it was favoured by engineers and politicians alike because of the corruption opportunities,’’ said a former Irrigation Department official.

Construction of road and rail lines without providing space for water flow by building bridges also added to the problem. Last week, the northern side of the parallel road-rail track from Muzaffarpur to Samastipur was flooded. The water stopped on upper side of the road, and the villagers broke the structure to let the water flow to the southern side. The NH 31 connecting Patna to Purnea will break any time because of the same reason.

The ‘‘solution’’ of building a high dam in Barakshetra in Nepal across the Kosi, considered as early as 1937, may have high emotional appeal but low utility. After all, what will happen to the water flowing through the rest of the 600 plus streams and rivers?

When asked this, Laloo lost his temper: ‘‘Nobody needs to teach me. I am also expert (sic). We will gather all of Nepal’s water at one place and then control it there.’’