strategiesare questionable
Kosi: Rising Waters, Dynamic . management
to facesuchevents
and our preparedness
is far too inadequate.
Channels and Human Disasters Furthet therehasbeena paradigmshift
RAJIV SINHA
TherecentKosifloodshaveproved
onceagainthat inadequatecontrol
havebeenresponsible
measures
for the recurringdisasters.Typically
flood controland riverine studies
focuson hydrologicalinformation,
whereasa muchmoreintegrated
approachthat paysattentionto
factorsis
specificmorphological
required.SinceKosiis a dynamic
river with a uniquemorphology
it is a river which has
andbecause
alwayscarriedhigh sedimentloads,
strategies
floodmanagement
must be attunedto suchspecific
parameters
of the river,besides
beingmuchmorethan mere"river
control"throughembankments.
is with the
RajivSinha(rsinha@iitk.ac.in)
Departmentof Civil Engineering,Indian
Kanpur.
Instituteof Technology,
42
in flood managementgloballyfrom "river
control" primarily involvingan engineering
the "effect''ata local
approachaddressing
emphamanagement''which
to
scale "river
a
crossover
at
approach
integrated
iversplay a critical role in human sisesan
thecauseratherthan
societyand historyastheyare the ofscalesandaddresses
India is a country
though
majorsourceof freshwater,trans- the effect. Even
large
rivers, our river
portation, and resources.However,this drained by several
are
rather rudirelationshipis often "troubled" because managementsffategies
planners
embrace
(floods
areyetto
or mentaryandour
changes in river discharge
as
satellite-based
such
droughts)or positioncan play havocwith modemapproaches
permanentsettlements.Suchchangescan monitoring and multi-criteria decision
be causedby both natural forcing as well supportsystem.This situationneedsto be
as human interventionsor a combination correctedto savea large populationfrom
of both. Natural processesmay include repeatedmiseriesof floodsyearafteryear.
short-term changesin sediment load,
water volume or, long-term changesin The Kosi: ADynamic SYstem
relativesealevelor climatechange.Human The Kosiriver in north Biharplains,eastem
interventionscould impact in changesin India is a major rributary to the Gangariver
asa
sedimentload or run-off through water systemandhaslongbeenconsidered
resourcemanagementschemessuch as problematic river due to recurrent and
Human extensiveflooding and frequentchanges
dams,barragesand embankments.
alterationsof river systemscanhavemany in its course.The gently slopingalluvial
primarilybecause surfaceof the Kosihas beendescribedas
importantconsequences
'lmegafan"by
and highly "inland delta", "cone" and
are
dynamic
river systems
integratedsystemsand any changein any variousreseardtersowingprimarilyto buildpart of the river can easilypropagateand ing up of a very largepositivetopography
affectthe whole system.The recentflood causedby depositionof enormousquantity
in the Kosiis certainlyone of the biggest of sedimentscarriedby the riverwhich it is
"human" disastersin recentyearsand it unableto transport.During the last two
hassentout a strongsignalthat our flood centuries,for which recordsare available,
NovEMBBRr5, zooS
EIE
Economic&PoliticalWEEKLY
(downcutting)in river systems.The well- plains such as the Baghmatiand Burhi
known balancemodelsuggeststhat hydro- Gandak respectivelyshow even higher
that the
logical (stream power) and sediment sedimentyieldsandthis indicates
by
vigorously
remobilised
are
(sediment
sediments
supply)
transport characteristics
yields
Lower
sediment
rivers.
the
smaller
parameters
affecting
are two main fluvial
behaviourof of the rivers draining the up plains is
the aggradation-degradation
(Figure
r). Specific clearly a function of, apart from the disthe river systems
(y.Q.s,/w),
where tancefrom the sourceareas,differencein
as
streampower,defined
water,
of
y is the specificweight
Q is dis- Figure1
bythe'Balance'
lsControlled
0rDegradation
channel RiverAggradation
is
the
w
charge,s is the slopeand
(Power
Sediments)
andTransport
toErode
Power
Stream
between
(Function
fromtheMountain5)
ofDelivery
Supply
width, can be consideredto representthe andSediment
-\
//L--------J
sum total of hydrologicalparameters'It
/Degradation
Aggradation)
\
l
combinaright
that a
mustbe emphasised
'/'
tion of thesethree parameterswould give
rise to the requisitespecificstreamPower
-td- * _ - l l
f-- aggrade
to erodethe river bedand produceincised
or d lorade?
| l|
I
-- A t
channels.Researchon the riversdraining
Stream
power
the Ganga plains at Indian Institute of
/ \
/ )eolmenr
group
(II'r)
has
Kanpurby our
Technology
supply
/
shownthat the specificstreampower of
the rivers draining the western Ganga Figure2
Sediment
Powerand
inStream
lsObserved
Variability
plains(wcn) rivers (eg, Gangaat Haridwar, ASignificant
Ganga
andEastern
theWestern
Draining
Supply
oftheRivers
Kanpur and Allahabad and Yamunaat Plains.
Low
Have
Characteristically
ofNorth
Bihar
ThePlains
aHighly
therefore
Supplyand
Power
andHighSediment
Delhi) is significantlyhigher(4o-4gw/m'?) Stream
ofthisRegion
lsCharacteristics
Regime
Aggradational
(ncn)
plains
than that of the easternGanga
0 s 10 ls 2025 30 35 4045
rivers (e g, Kosi,Gandak,Baghmati,and
(Garh)
Ganga
Kamla-Balan)(6-zo w/mz). Our analysis
(Haridwar)
Ganga
also showsthat for comparablevaluesof
(Kanpu0
Ganga
andwidth ofchannelsin ecp and E Yamuna{Allahabad)
discharge
g
Ganoa
wcn, slopevaluesare distinctly different. =
' (Patna)
Yamuna(Delhi)
E
This happensbecauseas a river gets 3
SGhaohra(Zalimnaqad
bigger,the increasein dischargeis largely
napti
or partly cancelledby increasein channel fi
Kosi{Baltara)
=
width and henceslopebecomesthe conKosi{Kufsela)
trolling factorfor specificstreamPower'
Baghmati
{Dheng)
Baghmati(Hayaghat)
Wehavealsoexaminedthe dataon sediment yield of different rivers of the ecp
plains
I West6anga
and wcp (Figure z) which indicatesthat
A Raptichaghrasystem
the sedimentsupply from the upstream
+ EastGangapldins
is variablefromwest
Himalayancatchment
(UttarPradesh
plains)to east(Biharplains).
The Ganga (at Haridwar) and Yamuna
+ +
(Allahabad)are characterisedby low
++
sediment yield of rso-3soy'kn'zlyl while
Kosi (Barakshetra)and GandakClriveni)
a
0
600
400
200
0
rivers are characterisedby much higher
Dfainage
basinarea
{sqkm)
sedimentyield of l,5oo-2,ooot/km2/yr.
Similarly,the Ramgangariver in the wcP rainfall in their catchmentsand fluvial
operatingin the plains.Further,
has much lesssedimentyield in compari- processes
in the mountainouscatchtectonics
active
rivand
Kamla-Balan
sonto the Baghmati
affects the erosion
area
directly
yields
ment
the
of
ersin the rce. High sediment
production.
A higher
sediment
plains
rates
and
are
WhyDo Rivers Aggrade
in
Bihar
mountain-fedrivers
availamean
eventually
rate
would
uplift
excePtionally
or Degrade?
to
the
primarily attributed
in
sediments
amount
of
larger
of
a
areas
bility
their
source
reliefin
Beforegoingany further, it may be prudent high topographic
be
ultimately
would
which
catchment
The
the
catchments.
their
to examine the factors responsiblefor and high rainfall in
plains.
aggradation (silting) and degradation foothills- and plains-fedrivers of Bihar broughtdownby the riversinto the
the Kosiriver hashad a preferentiallywestward movementby nearly r5o kilometres
acrossits fan surface.Many of the old
coursesof the river are clearlydiscernible
on satelliteimagesand someof themcarry
periods.
Thesemovewaterduringmonsoon
mentshavebeendescribedasautocydicand
stochastic,
typical in most of the alluvial
fansacrosstheworld. Howeve4the average
frequencyof movementof z4 yearsfor the
Kosiis amongthe lowestin the world comriver
paredto r,4ooyearsfor theMississippi
In most cases,the movementinvolvesa
suddenchangein course(called"avulsion")
originatingfrom a nodalpoint.
The dynamicnatureof the Kosiriver has
attractedattenrionfor overa centuryand a
havebeensuggested:
varietyof medranisms
(a) Tectonictilting and nodal avulsions:It
that the entire plains
hasbeensuggested
of north Bihar is subsidingovera geological time period and this has createda
westward tilt. Repeatedearthquakesin
this regionare evidenceof activetectonic
in the area.
movements
(b) Dischargepeakedness
and autocyclic
processes:
The Kosi river has extremely
variable discharge(s-ro times between
the average non-monsoonaland monsoonaldischarge)andthis createschannel
instability and bank erosion.An added
factor is the high sedimentload of the
river dueto which the bed of the river has
beencontinuouslyaggrading(the build-up
of the river bedby depositof sediment).
Most of the channelmovementsof the
Kosialsocauseextensiveflooding,the fan
surfacebeingvery gentlyslopingand the
beingshallow.Ifthe river channel
channels
enough,themonsoonfloods
hasaggraded
preferential
drainageinto any
may cause
of the old, leastaggradedlowest courses
andcangetstabilised.In an influentialpaper by Neil Wellsat Kent StateUniversity,
usa (Wells r9B7),it was noted that the
Kosishouldshift west,onewatershedat a
time, till it meetsanother river moving
eastor its movementis restricteddue to
topographicbarrier- this would causethe
eastwardsweepoverits fan.
Economic&Politicalwrsxrv Em
NoVEMBER15, 2oo8
43
BIHARFLOODS
Tectonicallystablecatchmentswould contribute significantly less quantities of
sedimentto the river systems.Similar to
the rainfall distribution,spatialvariation
in the uplift rate along an east-west
transecthasalsobeenobserved.
Research
by severalworkers has shown that the
easternparts of the Himalayaare characterisedby higheruplift rate (r5-zomm,/yr)
alongthe mountainfront in Nepal,based
on the analysisof deformationof terraces
alongBaghmatiriver system.
The present models on Himalayan
predict westwarddecrease
seismotectonics
in uplift rate alongthe Himalayanfront in
Dehradun(-z mm/yr).Therefore,not just
that sedimentproductionis low in their
catchments,
thereis obviouslyno remobi
lisationof sedimentsdue to incisednature
ofthe riverchannels.
It appearsthereforethat high sediment
supplyfrom upstreamarea coupledwith
low streampowerin EGprivershasresulted
in aggradation of channels, frequent
floods and rendering channelsprone to
avulsion.To the contrary, in wcr, high
unit stream power and lower sediment
supplyto the wcp riversmay be responsi
ble for degradationand incision of river
channel. Such hydrological differences
triggeredby climaticandtectonicvariations
mayhaveexistedfor a fairly long time and
this has producedmarked geomorphic
diversity acrossthe plains. This means
that everyriver has its own peculiarities
and thereforeneedsto be dealtwith carefully in termsof its management.
Unfortunately,thesefactorsare yet to becomea
part of rivermanagement
in India.
History of Flood Management
Keeping in view the hydrological and
geomorphologicalperspectivesoutlined
above,let usnowbrieflyexaminethe flood
managementstrategiesin Bihar plains
with particular referenceto the Kosi.
Initial suggestions
for flood controlfor the
Kosiriver during late rgth centuryincluded
constructionof marginal embankments,
high damat upstreamsection,river training in lower reachesand a seriesof barrages and canals.The famous Calcutta
Conference(1896-gz)concludedagainst
any major flood control measuresexcept
for short embankments.
The PatnaFlood
Conferencein ry97 also voted against
44
the embankmentstrategyand G F Hall,
chief engineernoted that "embankments
merelytransferredtroublefrom one area
to anotherand that they give rise to false
senseof security".A later investigationby
C C Inglis alsohighlightedthat the cause
of movementof the Kosiriver is the builddelta (fan)
ing up of the submontaneous
due to very large influx of sandfrom the
detailedinvesti
hinterlandand suggested
gations in terms of river discharge,silt
load,groundelevationsand subsoilwater
levels before finalising any scheme.No
suchinvestigationsever followed and no
definitive action could be taken until
r9s3.The debateon "embankmentor no
embankment"continued and a certain
section of engineerskept pushing the
embankment strategy on the grounds
that constrainingthe river berweenthe
wouldincreasethewaterway
embankments
of the river through increasein velocity
and erosivepower.Theargumentsagainst
the embankmentstrategy that these
would affect the natural flow of water
and trap the sedimentsapart from creating problemsof waterloggingprevailed
until this time.
A very severeflood in r9s3-54and the
subsequentsocial and political pressure
led to the formulationof the "Kosiproject"
in r9s4. The project consistedof (a) a
barrage at Bhimnagarand afflux bund,
(b) embankmentdownstreamof barrage
on bothsides,(c)easternandwesterncanal
system,(d) hydroelectricpower station
in easterncanal, and (e) a high dam at
Barahkshetra.This projectwas primarily
aimedat flood controlandto provideirrigation for increasingagriculturalproductivity.
The project startedin r9s9 and the river
wasdivertedthroughthe barragein 1963.
Barring the high dam at Barahkshetra,
most of the componentsof the project
have been completed or are still in
progress.Apart from the huge irrigation
potentialof the project,the embankments
on both sidesof the river formed a very
important component- designedto protect
about 2,Boo sq km of land in north
Bihar and Nepal from floods.While the
success
of the entireprojectis debatable,it
has certainly not servedthe objectiveof
flood control. Severallarge floods and
frequent breachesin the embankments
have continuedto occur in the region.In
addition, several adverseeffects of the
Kosiprojecthavebeennoted,viz, drainage
riseofriver
andwaterlogging,
congestion
bed level,and reductionin cropproductivity due to reduced silt flux on the
floodplains.Theseissueshavebeendiscussedin great detail in a recentbook
titled Trapped!Betweenthe Devil ond
DeepWaters(Mishrazoo8)andhavealso
been reported in the pages of rrw
(MishrazooS).The bottomline however
is that flooding problems have been
of
by the construction
further aggravated
embankments on both sides and the
barragein the upstreamreach.This is
not surprisingif onerecallsthe statement
of F C Hirst in r9o8 that
that the heavy
...it is morethanprobable
floodswhich in everyrecentyear havedevastatedseveralof the North Bihar districts
aremainly,if not entirely,dueto prevalence
with
embankment,
of embankments.....An
little or no waterway through it for carrying off the floodwaters,is a glovethrown in
Nature'sface - an insult which shehas yet
not beenknown to leaveunavenged.
tessons of 18 August
The Kusahabreachon 18August2oo8was
but the disasterthat
not totallyunexpected
The breach
followedwas unprecedented.
in
of r44,ooocusecs
occurredat a discharge
of theflow
the river andmorethan 8o-850/o
of the river passedthrough a new course
eastofthe originalcourse.On z4 August,
the river was flowing asan approximately
zz km wide channeland swelledto about
35 km wide in later weeks.Till today the
river flows through this new courseand
has inundated large areasin more than
r,ooo villages affecting nearly 35o,ooo
peoplein the region.This breachwas different from all previousbreacheswhich
havekept occurringrepeatedlyalongthe
westernor easternembankmentalongthe
During
Kosiduring the last 4-5 decades.
the Kusahabreach,two unusual events
occurred:(a) the river movedeastof the
moderncourse- unlike the westwardmigration trend overthe last zoo years,and
(b) the total movementwasof the orderof
about rzo km - an order of magnitude
higher than any singlemovementrecorded in historicaltimes.
Reportsavailablesuggestthat the eastern
embankmentaround Kusahahas been
underpressurefor sometime.Therepetitive
NoVBMBBRr5, zooS
llry
Economic&PoliticalWEEKLY
Elm'Fffi
imagesshow that the river has
-r*
been moving towards the eastern embankmentat leastsince1979.A breachin
the embankmentat Kusahawasdetectedas
early as s August zooS and perhapsa
timely action could have avertedsuch a
disaster.However,the fact remainsthat
embankmentshavenot producedthe dealready
sirableresultsand that they have'"-'-t
outlivedtheiren .tiu. rruritJ:"'
The human intervention with a river
like Kosi had perhapsreacheda threshold and the lateral movehaveoccurred
sooneror later. The basicprinciplesof
governthat large
earth surfaceprocesses
changeshappenafter a threshordis exceeded.The eastwardshift of the river
Itistimeto
fromDamodarembankments.
understandingof
developa process-based
all physicalattributes
riversandencompass
of the earth'ssurfaceinvolvedin watercycle
suchaslateralshiftingbyavulsionandcutoffs would be extremelydesirableto plan
the flood control strategyin north Bihar
plains.The detailed geomorphologicalin-
forfloodmanagement.Itcallsforanational vestigationsmustbecoupledwithlong-term
to developa betterunderporicy for flood managementto reduce hydrologicaldata
ofthe causativefactorsoffloods
risks to the peopleand to the developed standing
in the area'Thefloodmitigationprocedures
andnatural tnt'iton*tnt f'om floodin!'
logicalfactorsto derivelong-termbenefits'
problemin floodingis the exAn associated
tensiveerosionin the hilly catchmentarea
which contributes excessivesediment
Himalayan rivers thereby
weneedtomovetowardsastrategywhichload to the
flow parameters'A better
the
influencing
rather
on "river management"
emphasises
of the sedimentsupplyin
than ,.river control". The embankment understanding
strategyhasbeenquestionedattheinter-theuppercatchmentsoftheriversisnecescitingthe failurein Missis- saryparticularlyinrelationtodeveloping
andthattoobyaboutrzokmsuggeststhatnutioiut level
mitigationas
major chineserivers and long'term solutionsto flood
the river may havereachedthe threshold sippi and three
This
suchas small-scale afforestationand landusechanges'
ofitswestwardmovementandthenaturalalternativemethods
of
arenow favouredflood is where an "integratedmanagement"
would demandan irrigationstrategies
fan building processes
crucial'
in many flood'prone river basinbecomes
eastwardsweep.Mostanalystsagreethat control -.uru,.,
to developbasin-scale
is
aspect
Another
experiour
asBangladesh.
the confinementof the Kosi within the countriessuch
improvethe decision
to
and
maps
risk
flood
apprethat therehasbeenno
embankmentfurther worsenedthe situa- enceshows
Traditional methodsof
systems'
support
tion and has causedsignificantaggrada- ciablefloodmoderationintheKosiandother
flood risk mappingare basedon ground
tionwithinthechannelbelt.Theriverwas riversofnorthBiharevenaftertheconstrucbut when
surveysand aerialobservations'
there
and dam and
possiblyflowingat a higherelevationthan tion of embankments
such
widespread'
is
phenomenon
the
stage.
little effecton the river
the surroundingareas outside the em- will be very
expensive'
and
consuming
time
are
methods
river
It is tinre to adopt an integrated
bankment.Therehavebeenreportsabout
may
timelyaerialobservations
management which requires a Furthermore,
basin
the risingbedlevelof the Kosifrom many
weather
prohibitive
to
due
impossible
be
of the physical
partsin the plainsin downstreamreaches rigorous unJerstanding
channels are conditions' we need a multi-parametric
river
which
by
processes
as evidencedfrom siltation of canalsand
approachfor delineating the flood risk
stations. formedand maintained.An understanding
budgetingat downstream
sediment
informationsystems
conditions areasin a geographic
andsite-specific
In the upstreamreaches,the Kosibarrage ofthe historical
a
recentresearchwith
In
(crs)
environment.
river management
the aggradation.In a is critical for successful
hasalsoaccentuated
we attemptedto
Kanpur'
Itr
at
To achievethis, thereis a students
studycarriedout by ur oett i ror a stretch incluJingfloods.
partsof the Kosi
in
map
risk
flood
produce
in ludethegeomorphological
of 16Tkm from chatrato Kopariasuggested ,oongn .d ao
one of the
using
Bihar
north
the river basin in flood river basin,
thatallreacheschangedfroma,degrading,,p"r"i'.a.r, of
governthe multi-criteriadecision-makingtechniques'
in the post-embankment analysis,as theseparameters
to ,,aggrading,,
process(enp)' The
Lasin.In a AnalyticalHierarchicar
river
of
response
periodwith ratesashigh as r5o mm,/year hydiorogical
was to create
research
this
of rainfall-runoff basic aim of
creatinga volumechangeof the order of traditioiar appioach
rapidly-accessible
and
analysisthe .ff..t of g.ororphology is not easily-readable
2o-3oMcM/year.
somerecentworks flood risk maps basedon morphologic'
Therefore,unlike the previous move- considered.Howeve!
data'
on incorporatingdrainage topographic,and demographic
mentsand flooding history, this disaster have focused
data sets
different
of
networkparametersandrivermorphology A combination
seemstohaveastronghumancomPonent
(tRs
t'Iss-ttt
images
Morework on this aspect suchasremotesensing
in terms of our intervention and ill- in flood analysis.
(r99r),
topographic
and
Indian riversis needed data),censusdata
planned, outdated flood management particularlyon the
of flooding mapsobtainedfrom governmentagencies
Timehascometo realisethat a for better understanding
strategies.
was used to computea compositeindex
andtheir causativefactors.
long-termsolutionto floodsdoesnot lie in processes
on multi-parametric
,,controllingl,theriverthroughembanknens Aproper integrationof fluvial geomor- of flood risk based
analysis'Finally,all datawas integrated
butin,,managingl,theriversthroughinte-phologyandriveiengineeringaidedbyhigh
afloodrisk
satellitedata is the inacls environmenttoprepare
grated planning and understanding of ,.rot,iiion aerial and
susceptithe
the flood- map which not only defined
This event has once needofthe hour to understand
riverine processes.
but also
the rivers suchas those bility of eacharea to inundation
again raised doubts about the embank- ing behaviourof
of flood
Biharplains'complete provided means for assessment
mentstrategyalthoughwe alreadyhad the draining the north
property'
related fluvial processes risk in terms of loss of life and
deplorableresultsfrom chineseriversand und.rstindingof
what Next?
If thereis any lessonto be learnt from the
Kosidisaster- unlessthis eventpassesoff
as yet anothernatural disaster it is that
45
Economic& Politicalweerrv
@l
NoVEMBBR 15' 2oo8
Althoughthis mapwasvalidatedwith in- or not it is feasibleand desirableto bring hazards in India and especiallyin the
undationmapsof the NationalAeronautics the Kosi back to its course before the north Bihar plains. Repeatedfailure of
and SpaceAdministration (Nese)for the Kusaha breach, and (b) what are the flood control measuresin different parts
last few years,it did not show the areas long-term solutionsfor flood manage- of the country callsfor an urgentneedof
floodedduring the recentfloods as high ment given that embankmentsdo exist an integratedflood analysisincluding
and
risk zonesprimarily becausethe August alongthe Kosi?While severalsuggestions the hydrological,geomorphological
basin.
river
ofthe
geological
understanding
informal
18eventwasnot a simpleoverbankflood- are floating in the media and
ing but was causedby an unprecedented newsgroups,it may not be easyto com- The ur.ropflood policy study also called
shift of the river due to a breach in the ment without a detailed evaluation.A for greatly increasedresearchon river
embankment.Our modelcanbe improved goodpossibilityis to usethe new channel morphology,river training, mathematical
if suchinformationon long-termmigration asa diversionchannelfor the excesswater modelling,and land and water manage'
historyof the river can be incorporated during floodsand follow the age-oldprac- ment. A "system"approachto river engialong with large volumesof nearly inac- tice of controlledflooding.Perhapsa few neeringmust becomean essentialpart of
of the Kosi can be floodmanagement.
cessiblehydrologicaldata, repetitivesat- other paleochannels
The Kosidisastershouldprovokea criti
ellite imagesand anthropogenicfactors surveyedand a system of channel netcal
evaluationof the flood control meassuchasdeforestation,history of embank- works can be developedas a long-term
to be immediatelyundertakenand a
ures
the
ment breachesand other engineering effort. The courseof the Kosithrough
needsto be preparedcontaindocument
would
structures.Thereis an urgent need for barrageandwithin the embankment
performanceof the
the
historical
ing
the preparationof reliablefloodrisk maps need significant channel improvement
impactsof the
strategies,
control
flood
which shouldinvolve(a) a physicalflood- perhaps through dredging in selected
knowcontrol
measures,
flood
existing
ing system,(b) a historical databaseon reaches.Many of the embankmentshave
the
specific
gaps,
from
reports
and
the performanceof the system,(c) the dis- probablyoutlived their time span and it ledge
tribution of flood risk, (d) optionsfor in- may not be advisableto raise them to sitesin the Kosibasinaswell as the suradditionaldischarge.How- rounding areas.It is important to adopt
terventionin flooding system,and finally accommodate
(e)an efficientdecisionsupportsystem.
ever,propermaintenanceand continuous an integratedriver basin management
Most of our curent flood risk manage- monitoringof the embankmentsarevital and scientistsand engineersshouldbe
to oneor to avert such disasters.Apart from this, encouragedto takeup detailedstudies,to
mentrestson a systemicresponse
a handful of "designevents"rather than alternativeschemesof flood management suggestalternative schemesfor flood
temporalinteractions.Giventhe complexity (e g, rainwater harvesting, artificial re- mitigation and to identify the areas in
and multiplicity of possible charge, canal system, dredging, river order of priority. A networking of
of river sJistems
antecedentconditions,it is important to training, interlinking, etc) and drainage academic,researchand governmentalinconsideras to how the flooding system improvementmustbe seriouslyexamined stitutions undertakingstudieson floods,
would perform in a very wide range of after detailed studies are undertaken and a multidisciplinaryapproachcanbenefit flood managementimmensely.At the
conditions. For example, the current involvingacademia.
sametime, the mediashouldplaya proacfloodsin the Kosiinundatedthe areasthat
tive role in awarenessbuilding among
are supposedlylessflood-proneas these AWake-up Call
have not experiencedfloods in the last Floods have long been consideredas a the public.
few years.As a result,a large population purely hydrological phenomenon,and
has beenliving there under a falsesense flood managementhas remained the R E F E R E N C E S
The
of security.If only we had a longer data domain of the engineersin this country. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar (zoo8): "Bihar Floods:
Inevitable Has Happenbed",Economic& Political
management
flood
Therefore,
river
of
Proset and a better understanding
Weekly,6 September.
- (zoo8): Trapped!Betweenthe Devil arul Deep
migrationbehaviour,we couldhavedevel- grammeshaveessentiallyfocusedon hyWcters, Peoples' Science Instirute, SANDRR
oped a more reliable flood risk maps to drological variations and river control.
NewDelhi.
This hasbeenoneof the majorreasonsfor Welts, Neil A Dorr, Jr A John (1982):"Shifting of
procedures.
help flood management
Vol ts,
the Kosi River,Northern India", GeoloSlr,
It is alsoimportantto spreadawareness the failure of flood managementefforts
Issue2, p 2o4.
about floods amongstthe local popula- acrossthe globe including India. Hydrotion. Apart from the misery that floods logicalresponseof a basinis governedby
&Politicalwnnxlv
Economic
bring, the beneficialeffectsofflood have the basin geomorphologyand hence,an
studies
flood
to
approach
to be understoodand the age-oldconcept integrated
ovailIble0t
of "living with the floods"needsto be reit- should involve the geomorphological
DelhiMagazineDistributors
of the riverbasin.Historical
erated.The river-specificand site-specific understanding
continuous
after
knowledgebasehasto be compiledin the data reveal that even
Pvt Ltd
Marg
form of guidancedocumentsfor planners effortsto controlthe floods,flooddamages
Bangla
Sahib
110,
and flood affected areas in India have
110
001
aswell aslocalpopulation.
New
Delhi
TWoimportantissuesare currently be- increasedwith time. At present,floods
Ph41561062163
ing debatedin variouscircles:(a)whether are among the most disastrousnatural
q6
NoVBMBER15, 2oo8
Em
Economic&PoliticalWEEKLY
within.with the breachin the embankmentat Kusahaand the Kosi makinga breakfor freedom,a tenuous
peacehas suddenlyreturnedto thesevillages- but they will be backto squareone when next Marchcomes
plugged.
around,and the breachis, inevitably,
Forefathers'lesson
What will happenis the breachat Kusahawill be plugged,the new courseof the riverwill dry, and 414
two
of some1.2 million,willrevertto beingtrappedwithin.the
villagesin Indiaand Nepal,with a population
emblnkmentsand exposedto the vagariesof the river.Those livingin the protecledcountrysideof the
greaterfrom
easternembankmentwill feel secure,-atleastfor the time being.But the risk for them will be far
ruled
out' (A
be
cannot
embankment
eastern
point
the
down
at
some
possibility
of
a
breach
the
now on, as
its
of
end
westernmost
i$
the
Kosi
at
breachof the Westernembankmentis less likely,becausethe
pendulumswing.)The river'sflow this year was, fortunately,fairlylow, but one can only imaginethe
devasiationthat would have resultedfiom higherdischarges.In the past,afterall,water levelsin the Kosi
have beenfour times higherthan were recordedin 2008.
It is also importantto notethat,for the firsttime,the riverthis year breachedthe bund upstreamfrom the
gave an
Bhimnagarbarrage,devastatingfour Nepalipanchayatsalongwith a vast area in India.This
governments
in
New Delhiand
for
the
wiih
embarrassment
aiong
dimensionto the citastropne,
international
of
patna,becausethe maintenanceof the barrage-andembankmentsin both countriesis the respon$ibility
the
that
mean
would
This
again.
happen
to
allowed
never
be
will
likely
Sucha situation
lndianauthorities.
haveto be put under
measuringnearly300 kilom.etres,.would
entirelengthof the Kosiembankment,
when
it will simplynot be
will
come
The
day
standard.
by
any
constantiurveillance,forever a tall order
possibleto bringthe Kosi backwithinthe embankments,due to the exorablerise in the river'sbed.And on
ifrat Oay,the nei,vcoursewill be embankedyet again* not becausethe peopleof easternBiharwill demand
it, but becausethe governmentwill be left with no otheroption
Manysuggestionsthat have arisenfrom time to time,thoughnone seem to be any closerto a solution.Part
pfi"ation is, of course,that the Kosiflows betweentwo countries,thus allowingfor negotiating
of ini,
which have by experience,been
"on
parties
to agree,disagreeor, as has happenedthus requiringnegotiations,
a serioussearchfor solutionsat the locallevelin Biharmust
mustbe continued,
endless.W[ite negotiations
upon.In this,shouldwe not be askingthe questionof how peoplesurvived
be simultaneouslyimbarked
beforethe 1g50s,beforethe embankmentswere built?What were the embankmentsbuilt as an alternative
to, and why did was that alternativeseen as untenable?
where it
Alongthis line of thinking,possiblesolutioncouldbe to activateall of the river's15 channels,from
and distributethe water and silt from there into all of the channels.at leastas
begiis nearChatrain tit6p'at,
faias possible.Such an approachwould requirebilateralnegotiationsbetweenIndiaand Nepal,however'
hegotiationsbetweenthe two havedraggedon for decades.Besides'such a
even as pastwater-relateci
'spreading,will requireremarkibletechnologicaland socio-political
ability.The peoplewould essentially
haveto be askedto learnto'live with the flood',and also take its advantage,liketheirforefathers.
ln the Kosibelt,it is very easy to find elderlypeoplewho say, with confidence,that their situationwas much
,pre-emban(*ent'Oays.We can only assumethat they.havesome good reasonsfor saying
betterduringthe
so; in these-days,the inconvenienceo?a few weeksof floodwas life-givingsilt on the fields,and easy
polishthe same
drainageof waier post-monsoon.lt is essentialto revivethe traditionalknowledge,and to
togetherwith
communities
local
of
the
experiences
lived
the
to
bring
need
is
a
There
with mldern science.
muiualcontempthas grownup betweenthesetwo groups'with the
the skillsof the engineers.Unfortunately,
feelingi-hatthe communityconsistsof laymen,whilethe communityfeelsthatthe engineersare in
engineers
perceivedaim to exploitthem.As long as this mutual
caflootswith the politicians'and administrators'
possible.
mistrustexists,no solutionis
problemwiththe Kosifloodsis thatof handlingsedimentsand improvingdrainage.
the essentral
Ultimately,
and geographicalsituationalongthe Kosiis suchthat water and silt cannotbe preventedfrom
The pol1'rcal
plan' while
comhg ontothe if ain-s.fne fact is that the eitire lengthof the riveris.not availablewith which to
this term
and
flooding,
plain
requires
spread-out
The
Ganga
challenges.
presents
severe
too
reirainder
the
to be a
madg
is
regularly
area
in
this
flooding
shouldnot be seen rn a necessarilynegatiie light.While
-oyt
this
With
be
appreciated.
to
needs
progress,
this
can
elJe
before"anylhing
it
is
not;
disaster,the fact is
all obstructionsto the lmootn flow of the Kosi'swater needto be removed,and the silt needs
understanding,
spreadover as largean area as possible.Onlythen can an open debatebeginover how
to be allowed-t,o
the powersthat-beshouldproceedlOncethe peoplesettleon a real,workablesolution,the statewill,
eventually,be compelledto follow.