Nitish Kumar visits key weir on river near Nepal border

Kumar also visited the upcoming airport at Darbhanga to see the progress.

In his first visit outside Patna post-lockdown, chief minister Nitish Kumar, along with water resources minister Sanjay Jha, Wednesday visited Jainagar in Madhubani to take stock of the flood preparedness. He is also likely to visit Valmikinagar in West Champaran and a few other north Bihar districts, which are prone to recurrent floods.

Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM, at the low dam at Jainagar on Wednesday. (HT Photos)

After visiting the embankment at Jainagar, Kumar asked the WRD minister to get a proposal made for developing the old Jainagar weir into a modern, automated barrage at the earliest. “It is a historic gift for the Mithilanchal region, as it will also provide water for irrigation to thousands of acres of land,” said Jha.

On his way to Madhubani by road, Kumar also visited the upcoming airport at Darbhanga to see the progress. According to sources, Kumar may undertake visits across the state for people’s feedback on development initiatives ahead of the Assembly elections due in the state later this year.

The visit to Jainagar is also significant in the wake of the recent posturing by Nepal, which led to delay in carrying out repair work on the other side. He visited the embankment on the Kamla river at Jainagar in Madhubani and Naruar in Jhanjharpur, both places where breaches took place last year, and asked the authorities to speed up work in coordination with the authorities of the neighbouring country.

“I have come to this bridge earlier also. Last year, water had overtopped the bridge. This should not happen and adequate arrangements should be made in advance,” the CM said.

In a clear departure from the past, when Bihar’s water resource department’s engineers carried out monitoring and repair work on both sides routinely without any hassles, Nepal had stopped work on its side, but later permitted on the condition that the officials must have Coronavirus-free certificate.

Kamla river, which originates from Churia range near Maithan in Sindhuli district of Nepal and flows into Bihar, had breached its embankments at seven places last year, causing severe inundation in the Mithilanchal region. For its repair, Kamla Canal division, Jainagar, had signed a memorandum with NNT Developers Pvt Ltd in March this year.

However, some parts of two of the breaches on the right marginal embankment of the weir fell on to the no-man’s land on the Indo-Nepal border and the Nepal Armed Police had for the first time stopped work there in April itself. Despite fresh survey by the Madhubani and Nepal administration, it could not be carried out. Later, after the issued was flagged to the Centre, the Nepal authorities gave the go-ahead.

After heavy rains in Nepal last year, the water level in Kamla river had suddenly gone up and it was flowing above the Kamla weir at Jainagar. Later, it inundated large parts. Though it is just the beginning of monsoon season, the authorities are alarmed at the prospect of heavy downpour in Nepal than in India, as the roots of Bihar’s devastation due to floods have always been in the Himalayan country.

Kumar had on Tuesday directed the officials to keep a watch on vulnerable rivers like Kodi, Gandak, Kamla etc. in the bordering areas by developing proper coordination with the Nepal authorities, with focus on places where breaches were reported in the past. He asked the officials to ensure that communication network worked properly and there were adequate arrangements in the event of flooding.