KOSI – The Sorrow of Bihar

THE KOSI – A part of Ganges,

Brahmaputra and Meghana riverine
system travels through Nepal before
entering the plains of Bihar.
Kosi, the sorrow of Bihar, has remained
an enigma for engineers for the number
of avulsions it has had till date causing
huge floods every time. It was as recent
as 2008 when it breached the
embankment in Kushaha (Nepal) and
shifted eastwards.
 2008 Floods - an Unprecedented Tragedy
 On 18 August 2008, the Kosi River burst through its
eastern embankment about 13 km upstream of the
Kosi Barrage in Nepal, 8 km north of the Indian
border.
 At its peak, the intensity of water force went up to
166,000 cubic feet per second (cusec) compared
with the regular 25,744 cusec, running straight down
south through a new course 15-20 km wide and 150
m long north to south.
 This created major flooding in Nepal and India -
Bihar in particular. According to official figures, a
total of 3.3 million people were affected in Bihar.
 Bihar is divided into 38 districts, of which five districts,
namely Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura, Araria and
Purnia, were severely affected by the flood.
 These 5 districts make up 12 percent of Bihar’s landmass. They had not experienced
significant flooding since the completion of the barrage and afflux embankments
in 1963, with consequent lack of preparedness.

 A total area of close to 3700 sq. km was inundated, affecting 412 Panchayats and
993 villages.

 The floods resulted in a significant decline in the agricultural production base due
to sediment deposition and loss of livestock, farm working capital and other farm
assets (e.g. tube wells, implements, etc.).

 It also affected six districts in Nepal. Approximately 53,800 Nepalese (11,572

households) were affected by the Koshi floods in Sunsari District, according to the
Government of Nepal (GoN).

 Koshi Wildlife Reserve along the Koshi river was severely impacted by the floods including
its wildlife and biodiversity.
 DAMAGES CAUSED
 The total population in the 5 main affected districts is estimated to be 9.4 million, of which
32 percent (3 million) were affected by the floods.
 Approximately 493 lives were lost and 3,500 were reported missing after the disaster. The
flood triggered one of the largest evacuation operations with over 1 million people
evacuated, and about 460,000 people accommodated in 360 relief camps.
 Housing : According to Government of Bihar figures, 236,632 houses were fully or partially
destroyed across the districts of Supaul, Madhepura, Saharsa, Araria, and Purnea. The
estimated damage is Rs. 5,935 million (US$ 134.9 million). Of these, the first three districts
were the worst hit with over 95 percent of the reported damage.
 Roads and Bridg es: About 1800 kilometers of paved and unpaved roads and about
1100 bridges and culverts were destroyed in the floods. Maximum damages were
reported in Supaul, Madhepura and Saharsa.
 Water Resources (Irrigation and Flood Protection): Extensive structural damage was
caused to irrigation and flood protection infrastructure, including the Kosi barrage. More
than 6 km of the main Eastern Kosi Canal was fully damaged, 3 km of the branch, and 1
km partially damaged. Over 150 km of the distributaries and sub-distributaries were fully
damaged, as well as 730 km of the water courses, 151 canal bridges, and 138 regulators.
 Ag r iculture and Livestock: Over 350,000 acres of paddy, 18,000 acres of maize and
240,000 of other crops were adversely affected, impacting close to 500,000 farmers.
Approximately 10,000 milk animals, 3000 draught animals, and 2500 small ruminants
perished in the disaster.
 ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
 Koshi flood of August 2008 in eastern lowlands of Nepal
affected 700 ha fertile land in Nepal. It was calculated that
25% of the affected cultivated land of Shreepur, Haripur and
western Kushaha villages in Sunsari district are still barren
and remain filled with flood sediment of sizes from clay to
sand even after 12 years. The issues of land change from
fertile to barren because of flooding and characteristics of
the sediments in terms of cultivation are the foci of this
research.
 On 18th August 2008, Koshi river diverted on its 100 years
old course towards the eastern side by breaking its
embankment with 90% flow of water (MoHA 2009).
 This flood is considered as one of the most disastrous natural
events of the last decade in terms of the number of people
affected and the loss of properties. The flood completely
destroyed three Village Development Committees (VDC)
whereas two VDCs were partially affected.
 The flood deposited large amounts of sand and silt on
agricultural land affecting millions of people in India and
65,000 in Nepal (MoHA 2009).
 The economic loss incurred by the loss the existing crops
estimated at US$18.7 million reduced the National Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) by 0.3% on 2009 (ADB, Asian
Development Bank 2009).
 About 700 ha of fertile land was uncultivable because of
the inundation of the land with flood sediments filled
with sand and silt (THT, The Himalaya Times 2011) till
2011.
 Most of the severely affected VDCs are still in desert like
conditions even after 12 years of the event.
 The change in the state of cultivable land to barren due
to the flood sediments of Koshi is thus a major focus of
this study. The 4–5 m level difference between
embankment area and river channel pose further risk for
recurring devastations.
 Relief and Rehabilitation Work
 In response to the disaster, widely reported as the region's
worst flood in 50 years, Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, met
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek his help in
dealing with the "catastrophe".
 The Prime Minister declared a "natural calamity" on 28 August
and earmarked US$230 million in aid for the region. Rescue
operations were carried out by the Indian Army, National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and non-government
organizations. Indian Air Force helicopters dropped relief
supplies in the worst-hit districts. Mumbai Fire Brigade sent a 22-
member disaster management team to help in relief work.
 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar requested a rehabilitation package
of Rs 145 billion from the central government for the flood
ravaged Kosi region.
 The Bihar government returned funds from Gujarat for relief
work because of purported differences with the Gujarat Chief
Minister, Narendra Modi.
 On 1st September, describing the floods as a "disaster," Dalai
Lama gave 1,000,000 rupees to the Bihar government for relief
work.
 The Government of Bihar initiated Kosi Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Programme covering
30,000 affected families in Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura district based on a pilot project
implemented by ODR Collaborative, a network of organizations, supporting the Government and
an owner driven reconstruction policy was formulated to support each family with Rs. 55,000 to
construct their own house.
 After signing an agreement with the World Bank in January 2011, this programme has been
upscaled to cover 100,000 families for reconstruction of hazard safe houses. The cost per house
will be Rs. 55,000 ($1200) with an additional cost of Rs. 2,300 ($50) for a toilet and Rs. 5,000
($110) for solar powered lighting. In cases where beneficiaries do not own land, the Government of
Bihar will provide additional assistance of Rs. 5000 ($110) for the people to buy the land.
 Towards this project, the World Bank is contributing $220 million. The Government of Bihar has
also partnered with ODR Collaborative and UNDP to continue the social and technical facilitation
and capacity building for this 'owner driven reconstruction' programme. Technical guidelines have
been brought out to enable owners to build houses with various local materials including bamboo.
 The rehabilitation work has been incredibly slow. Out of a total 100,000 houses to be built by the
Government in the Kosi region comprising Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul districts, only 12,500
were built till February 2014.
 CONCLUSION
 Repeated large-scale loss events in Bihar have brought significant destruction, hindering
economic performance and depriving communities of their assets, livelihoods, and labor
force, all too often locking them into endemic poverty cycles. And each year, the State
is plagued with the same disasters, impacting thousands of people, destroying lives and
livelihoods, and necessitating the externalization of disaster response.
 The devastation wrought by disasters in the region, however, has also presented an
opportunity to initiate improvements in quality of life and changes in attitudes about risk
while undertaking reconstruction tasks. As seen in examples across the region, good
reconstruction after a disaster can help revive the local economy, restore livelihoods,
and improve access to housing, its quality and safety, as well as social and community
infrastructures. Peoples‟ participation in reconstruction activities such as through owner
driven reconstruction, reinforces equity and strengthens community networks.
 Some Reactions to the Kosi Floods 2008
 “The Kosi Flood is nothing but a
National Calamity” – Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh
 “The floods have pushed Bihar back to
50 years” – Rameshwar Prasad, a local
historian
 “Places where crops were standing 15
days ago is 12 -14 feet deep
underwater and the current of water is
comparable to Richter 5 of earthquake
intensity” – Chandan Singh, an
environmentalist and flood volunteer
THANK YOU