Bihar Flood Dispatch-8 / 2005

The Sinking Foundation of Task Force Report (2005) – 3

The Task Force on Floods (2004) has suggested raising and strengthening of the embankments and the Centre’s Government in Bihar has religiously followed the advice. Embankments all over the state are being raised in the hope that they will save the masses from floods. A report by the State Govt. of Bihar (2002) says that those who are opposed to the embankments have a colonial bent of mind because the British too held the same opinion.  These embankments were constructed by sandy soil and are being raised by sand only, since that is the only local material available. These embankments would be a greater threat to the people because they will allow the flood levels within the embankments to build up before they breach. I would like to slightly go back in history as to how the British reached the conclusion.

  Captain Hirst (1908) was carefully watching growth of these embankments and commented, ‘…In recent times , on the left bank of the Kosi, in the Purnea District, private enterprise has copied the work of the makers of the Bir Band, giving temporary relief, which, as will be seen later, is probably a menace to “future welfare” He also denounced the way embankments were built in China on the Hwang Ho saying, ‘…The Chinese, however, give us the best example of the deplorable results which wrongly designed attempts  to benefit one generation have had on posterity, an important river, in the act of fulfilling a definite programme of land construction by the deposition of the sediment carried in its waters , was forced into a fixed bed, and maintained there by closing, with embankments, of the natural outlets, which permitted flood waters to deposit the matter which they held in solution or suspension, on lands which sadly needed it. Each succeeding generation has been compelled to raise the height of the embankments, to make them keep pace with an ever- increasing flood level….unusually heavy flood breaks down or overtops the embankments, and the pent-up waters deal death to the posterity of those who, originally in good faith, prepared the way for disaster.  (Emphasis Authour)

The terrible results of the embankment system in China should serve as a warning to Indian engineers; it is very doubtful if the warning has yet been taken; and it is more than probable that the heavy floods which in very recent years have devastated several of the North Bihar districts are mainly, if not entirely, due to the prevalence of embankments…An embankment, with little or no waterway through it for carrying off the flood waters, is a glove thrown in the nature’s face –an insult which she has not yet been known to leave unavanged.’

W.A.Inglis(1909), a retired chief engineer of Bengal, replied to the points raised by Hirst but before doing that he made his position very clear, ‘… By some of the engineers who had to deal with the rivers of Bengal, marginal embankments have been held as altogether abominable. By others whom I number myself, it has been held that marginal flood banks, designed with discretion and with proper understanding of the factors of the case, are of service. It is, however, fully recognized that it is rather that they are a lesser evil than uncontrolled floods, than that they are in themselves a positive good.’

He continued to say that, ‘… It is true that all such rivers have certain features in common. They are liable to pass a high flood within their natural banks. They are all silt bearing to a greater or a less degree, and they are all liable to bank erosion. There is, however, a great variation in these factors, and I would lay a great stress on the necessity for the careful consideration of the peculiarities of each river.

Hirst had raised the point of non-interference with the working of nature, in general, and with rivers in particular. He had also talked about ‘throwing gloves in the face of nature’ and its revenge. To this Inglis’s reply was that it was true that man could not do anything in controlling or changing the bigger forces of nature. He could neither cause the rain to fall, sun to shine or wind to blow. Yet he could interfere with the forces of nature and modify them. He maintained that every field that is ploughed or sowed with corn was an interference with nature. Through cross-breeding human beings had modified the plants and animals. He had constructed reservoirs to store water and applied it for irrigation without any regard to apparent intention of nature. He had protected the river banks against erosion, dredged up sand and mud from the places where nature wanted that to remain. Inglis emphasized the need for understanding the limits within which such efforts should be confined and the success depended on appreciating such limits and the sense of proportion.

Inglis, however, did say that low height embankments could be built along the rivers that would hold the flood, to an extent, and allow the rivers to continue its process of land building. This is what famous Wilcox had also suggested while describing the Burdwan, the construction of embankments along the Damodar in 1850s and their subsequent demolition in 1860s. 

William Inglis, former chief engineer of Bengal in the beginning of the twentieth century (retired 5th December 1905) had a very good understanding of the entire flood situation in the province and had the authority to do innovative experiments. Yet, no such experiments, that he professed or thought were good for the community, were done during his tenure. It is difficult to understand why the traditions like one in Burdwan were allowed to die. His enlightenment was post retirement and he set, probably, the tradition. Such proposals are made even today and some engineers talk about controlled flooding with the help of embankments so that depressions in land (locally called chaurs) are slowly filled and the land reclaimed.  Besides, when the floods are designed to take place by overtopping of the embankments, there is some sort of preparedness to face the eventuality. And this what, precisely, the farmers of flood plains, in general, or those in Burdwan, in particular, were doing. But the state interfered unnecessarily in the community efforts to the detriment of the collective and traditional wisdom of the farmers and imposed on them a system of irrigation that was of doubtful efficacy. Wisdom dawned on Wilcox, too, but only after his retirement. One can many find retired Chief Engineers in Bihar who would suggest the same. The question is why don’t they speak while their tenure is on?

Now that the traditional wisdom is buried, it is difficult to revive such a system and convince farmers of the partial or controlled flood protection. They will seek either full protection against floods because they have been promised the same for a long time now or will be happy without one. The people will have to be told that the floods cannot be done away with and will have to be faced in some form or the other through a massive education programme. In the absence of such a campaign, the people are unlikely to appreciate the futility of flood control measures. They will keep on asking that what is the use of flood protection if it does not protect them fully?

Many elderly people living in the flood plains of Bihar  are of the opinion  that the British failed to  understand the rationale behind the low height and weak embankments of  the zamindars. Being of low height, these embankments were capable of holding small floods and that is what their function was. After a stage, there used to be preparedness of breaching of the embankments and if the embankments did not breach on their own, they were cut en masse. Thus the floods were moderated automatically and river was free to perform its duty of land building. The fields used to get the top layer water from the rivers, which contained the fertilizing silt. The fields were never cast with coarse sand and their fertility of land was never lost.

Let us all prey that almighty God grants our engineers the courage to speak the truth.

Dinesh Kumar Mishra
Convenor-Barh Mukti Abhiyan
C-7 Vatika Green City  PO  MGMC
Dimna Road  Jamshedpur  831018
Ph: 0657-2650844  Mob: 09431303360
E-mail  mishrdadk@...

28th June 2005