Bihar Floods, 2007 – An Update

Context

* *

Incessant rains, both in the upper and lower catchments of the North Bihar
rivers, since the third week of July 2007 have caused serious flooding in
the North Bihar plains affecting as many as 19 of the 38 districts in the
state causing extensive damage to infrastructure, human lives, livestock,
crops and other property and assets. According to the initial estimate made
by the disaster management department of the state government about
11.5million people belonging to Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi,
Saharsa, West
Champaran East Champaran, Supaul, Darbhanga, Patna, Nalanda, Bhagalpur,
Banka, Katihar, Samastipur, Seohar, Khagaria, Gopalganj, Madhepura, Araria
and Begusarai have been affected by the devastating flood. So far 90 people
have lost their lives and crop in .99 million hectare worth Rs.1.12 billion
have been lost in the flood. At least 72,465 houses worth Rs 285.4 million
and government property worth Rs 120.5 million have been destroyed. A
Central Water Commission report dated August 5, 2007 says the Burhi Gandak,
Bagmati, Adhvara, Kosi, Mahananda and Gandak are receding but are still
above the danger mark at several places. According to officials in the state
disaster management department the worst hit districts include Sitamarhi,
Saharsa, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Supaul, Katihar, Madhubani and
Samastipur.



*Current Situation*

Hundreds of thousands of people in Bihar have been displaced by severe
floods and are without food, shelter, drinking water and essential medicines
for days. Many are living dangerously on embankments, highways, rooftops
and any high place they find to keep alive. While dozens drowned in
floodwaters, some died of starvation. Others breathed their last after
catching diseases like malaria, kala azar and diarrhoea. Some were bitten to
death by snakes. In the last five days, several newborn babies died due to
absence of health care in areas that have become isolated islands. Many
elderly people were hit hard, with many tragically left behind in inundated
villages by younger members of families eager to escape.

According to Marzio Babille, Unicef's health chief in India who is
coordinating UN work in Bihar, in the 15 days to August 2, 90cm of rain had
fallen in Bihar's worst affected areas, compared to annual average rainfall
of 1.3m. He said aid agencies and authorities must do more to prevent
outbreaks of measles, gastroenteritis, dengue fever and other diseases, or
"we will see many deaths". He said 20 helicopters were needed in Bihar,
whereas presently only 4 had been pressed into service. "The scale is
massive, the challenge is enormous for the government and those who are
helping," he said in Patna, Bihar's capital.

Many of the displaced are yet to get any food packets or water. Most are
fighting for survival with virtually nothing to eat. They are sleeping under
the open sky and forced to drink the polluted flood water. Help from the
sky is their elusive last hope. There is acute shortage of essential
medicines as well as doctors in rural areas hit by floods. Reports pouring
in from different flood-hit areas paint a harrowing picture of the miseries
of the people. In fact, the United Nations has now described the situation
coupled with other parts of South Asia as one of the worst floods in living
memory.(NDTV August 5,2007)

*State Response*

The situation has become all the more grim because the state government was
initially unresponsive when things were more manageable. With the Chief
Minister away on a visit to Mauritius, the state administration maintained a
pretence of being adequate to the task without undertaking any concrete
action at the ground level. Confronted with the mounting pressure from the
opposition parties and the growing anger of the affected people, the Chief
Minister, on his return on August 2, set the relief operations rolling by
undertaking an aerial survey of the flood relief districts to have an
appraisal of the gravity of the situation. Subsequently cabinet ministers
were made specifically responsible for each of the affected districts to
coordinate relief operations and an additional post of Special District
Magistrates, each responsible for a cluster of affected districts, was
created to deal with a calamity of this scale. The assistance of the army
was requisitioned. The relief operations that way got off to a planned start
from August 4 onwards.

The relief interventions being undertaken by the state government include
the following:

Ø Opening up of relief camps – Muz-15, Sitamadhi-9, Saharsa-2,
E.Champ-37, Supaul- 5, Darbhanga-231, Bhagalpur-2, W.Champ-19, Katihar-6,
Madhubani-62, Samastipur-276, Sheohar-30, Gopalganj- 10, Madhepura- 2,
Begusarai-10

Ø Setting up of medical relief teams - Muz -10,E.Champ-2, W.champ -
17, Supaul - 7, Bhagalpur-4, Dharbhanga-18,Katihar-9, Madhubani-21,
Gopalganj-8, Samastipur-22 Sheohar-5, Madhepur-4, Begusarai-8

Ø No. of boats deployed for evacuation - Muzaffarpur- 558, Sitamarhi-
346,Saharsa-174, E.Champ.-394, Supaul-143Darbhanga -547, Patna-21
Bhagalpur-22, W.Champ- 118, Katihar-109,Madhubani-102, Samastipur-413,
Sheohar-85 Nalanda-39, khagaria-119,Gopalganj-90, Madhepura-88, Araria-20,
Begusarai-40

Ø Details of distribution of essential commodities - Wheat-15731.50qtls,
Rice-13221.00 .qtls, Chura-3185.18 qtls,Gur- 566.02 qtls,Sattu-45.45qtls.,
Candles -89757, Match Box-47213, Salt- 231.10qls & Polythene Sheets
distributed- 25126, Cash distribution(Rs. In Lakh)-140.01,6080 food packets
Air dropped in Darbhanga, Madhubani,E.Champ district,1000 packets
distributed by Begusarai Distt.

Apart from supply falling grossly short of demand, there are certain areas
that have as yet to be addressed like drinking water and temporary shelters.
With regards to the latter, the process of procurement from the neighbouring
states has been initiated. With large areas still under water, the state is
having logistical problems in reaching out relief to the people given the
grossly inadequate number of boats that the government has at its disposal.
The state government is presently busy consolidating the estimates of damage
caused by the floods in order to make that into a basis for requisitioning
assistance from the Calamity Relief Fund of the Prime Minister.

*Response of other actors*

Realising its limitations, both physical and financial, in dealing with a
calamity of this magnitude, the state has gone in appeal to other actors,
including those from the civil society. Some of the players who have taken
up cudgels are UNICEF, OXFAM, British Red Cross, CASA, TDH, Indian Red
Cross, Swiss Red Cross but the actual relief operations either actually have
to roll out (with agencies still appraising or having gone in appeal with
funds still to be raised) or are very few and far between.

*Immediate Interventions*

Given this state of affairs, the people continue to languish. Our feedback
from the field and from media reports is that, in order of priority, what is
most required on an urgent basis are the following:

1. Community Kitchens and dry ration support

2. Polythene Sheets for temporary shelters

3. Medicines to combat the outbreak of epidemics

4. Safe drinking water

5. Restoration of loss of personal assets like clothes and cooking
utensils

So much so for addressing the immediate relief needs. However, there still
remains enormous need on the ground which calls for extension of relief
support. The Chief Minister has gone on record stating that the timing of
the floods has also been unfortuitous as it has excluded the possibility of
re-undertaking kharif cultivation. With no kharif cultivation, the landless
would be robbed off wage earning opportunities in agriculture till
September. Hence, relief support would have to be more extended for such
families. For the time being the marginal and small farmers who have
suffered crop losses have been promised cash compensation at the rate of Rs
4000/hectare.

*To-day I appealed Bihar,s people through Radio Mirchi to come foreward for
the help of flood effected people of bihar.*

Thanks and Regards
Deepak Bharti,
National Convenor, Lok Shakti Sangathan India
Secretary,NGO SSVK Bihar, Lok Shakti Bhawan
Opposite Ajay Nilayan Appt.
Nageshwar Colony,Boring Road,
Patna - 800001 (Bihar) India
Web- http://www.geocities.com/ssvk_india
e-mail:ssvkindia@.../depakbharti@...
Phone/Fax : +91-612-2522077/+91-6273-222242
+91-9431025801 (cell)


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