Experts suggest measures for flood mitigation in Bihar

Bihar water resource department’s Sanjay Kumar Jha said that CM has always favoured finding long term solutions to contain floods and drought in state.

With Bihar perennially battling floods in one part and drought in the other, experts from Nepal, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Lucknow on Friday suggested different measures, including integrated flood management, intra-state interlinking of rivers, development of wetlands, silt management etc. for resolving the issue at a webinar organised by the water resources department, government of Bihar.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar conducts aerial survey of flood affected areas. (PTI)

AS Maurya from IIT Roorkee discussed the hydrological, topographical and fluvial reasons of floods in Bihar and suggested remedies like silt management by suitable reservoirs and wetlands, structural interventions and non-structural measures. The issue of silt management, especially in the Ganga, has been raised time and again by none other than chief minister Nitish Kumar, but no concrete action has been taken so far.

Neera Shreshta Pradhan from International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, suggested involving community in flood management and sending them regular warning related to increase or decrease in water level. ICIMOD is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre, serving member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas including India, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dr RN Sankhua, chief engineer (south), National Water Development Agency, Hyderabad, discussed causes of Bihar flood in detail, including topographical and morphological behaviour of rivers, deforestation, limitations of conventional flood embankments etc., while stressing the need for innovative structural measures like widening of flood plains, flood plain lowering and detention, intra-state interlinking of rivers, creation of more wetlands, room for the river, detention basins and water storage area, alternative to embankments, dredging, etc.

Dwelling on integrated flood management, Manoj Chauhan of Egis India Consulting Engineers Pvt Ltd advocated land and water resources development in a river basin with a view to maximising the efficient use of floodplains and minimising loss of life and property.

N Dinesh Kumar of Egis India suggested transferring part of the monsoon flood water in north Bihar to less water-rich basins of south Bihar, besides construction of percolation wells to increase the direct recharge of monsoon runoff in river channels.

Inaugurating the webinar, Bihar water resource department’s Sanjay Kumar Jha said that CM has always favoured finding long term solutions to contain floods and drought in state. “The department is working on finding long term solutions for water management by inviting suggestions from experts. The chief engineers of the department have also been asked to attend it to understand the viewpoints of experts. The department will later brainstorm to decide which idea to adopt and work on,” he added.

Department’s secretary Sanjeev Hans said due to climate change it was likely that the frequency and intensity of flood in Bihar may increase in the days to come. “Under the guidance of the CM, the department has been working on structural, non-structural & green measures for flood mitigation. Given the high population density in the state, we have to look towards scientific solutions for this.” he said, adding the formulation of policies based on scientific research will ensure effective policy development and evaluation processes.