A river of contention

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allays apprehensions of any flood in Nepal because of the pilot channel,he has asked the Centre to sort put the matter with that country without further delay. Residents of Gobargarha in Saptari district of Nepal offered stiff resistance to Bihar engineers when they started work early this month.

The Bihar government has proposed an immediate meeting of the Kosi High-Level Committee — which has members from India and Nepal — at Birpur (Supaul) to help resolve the matter fast. But there is no confirmation yet from the Nepal side. Any flood-control work by both countries is coordinated through this committee.

Bihar Water Resources Minister Bijay Kumar Choudhary said the department had dug up a pilot channel last year on an experimental basis. Such pilot channels are temporary and get filled up because of heavy silt deposits.

First secretary and spokesperson in the Indian Embassy in Nepal,Apura Srivastava,told The Indian Express: “Though we have knowledge of the pilot channel stalemate,we have no information on any Kosi High Level Committee meeting to discuss the matter.”

The Kosi Committee includes the Bihar engineer-in-chief,Birpur chief engineer,barrage superintending engineer and Ganga Food Control Commission chairperson from India and director general,director and chief engineer from the water resources department of Nepal,besides two engineers from Viratnagar and Inarwa.

Though there is no immediate threat of flood with an average water discharge of 24,000-32,000 cusecs per day,rains in Nepal in the coming days can increase the threat substantially. During a good monsoon,water discharge from the Birpur Barrage goes up to 2 lakh-3.5 lakh cusecs. The breach at Kushaha in Nepal in 2008 that caused the devastating floods happened when the discharge reached about 4 lakh cusecs per day.

Kumar told The Indian Express: “As Kosi is running parallel to the eastern bank,its current needs to be diverted through the channel right from the barrage point. Nepal’s apprehensions about the river getting shifted towards its side because of the digging are unfounded”.

Kumar has already spoken to the Union Water Resources Minister. “I may well seek time from the Prime Minister if the matter is not resolved within a few days. Not much time is left with the monsoon round the corner,” said the CM. He said the Water Resources and Disaster Management Departments had been alerted to get ready for flood-fighting measures. A breach in the eastern bank can affect Basantpur,Raghopur,Saraigarh Bhabhtiyahi and Kisanpur blocks of Supaul.

Choudhary said the state government intended to dig a 11.6-km long pilot channel under Nepal from the barrage. “At Hanumannagar in Nepal,the river meets its natural channel. Nepal has a wrong perception. Even if one thinks for a while that the river is breached on the Nepal side,the major sufferer will be Bihar districts of Madhepura and Saharsa,” said the minister.

A pilot channel is dug two to four metres wide and one-and-half-metres deep to divert the river current. A dredging machine sucks silt and throws it on either side of the river. Further gush of water automatically widens the pilot channel.

A WRD engineer posted at Birpur said the state government had just started alignment work on the pilot channel early this month when it had to be stopped after opposition from Nepal.