-----Original Message-----
From: vagish [mailto:Vagishkj@...]
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 9:54 AM
To: biharchintan@...
Subject: [biharchintan] Update on Bihar Floods

Sorry for cross postings, but Yahoo groups does not seem to be distributing mail to the group properly.

Vagish

 

 

Dear Friends of 'Bihar Chintan',

 

Please find a statistical update on Bihar Floods and its analysis by the acclaimed flood expert Shri Dinesh K Mishra, who had also joined the Bihar Chintan Fact Finding Team at Patna recently. While there is a need to call the bluff of the government 'effort' there is a greater need to pressurize the concerned agencies to take proper cognizance of the devastating nature of the floods this time and rush in immediate help.

 

We have received news that epidemics has broken up in some areas. The visit of the PM has not made any qualitative change in the nature of relief as the misery of people is compounding everyday that passes by. ( The Prime Minister, after his visit to the flood affected areas of Bihar on the 27^th July, has announced  Rs. 115 Crores to the state for relief operations. Any further grants would be made only after the visit of the Central Team early next month.)

 

For the devastating flood this year we also request you to mobilize individual support. Even if it is small, it has great moral value. Please suggest some other ways that you may think could be useful in this emergency situation.

 

Thanks,

 

Vagish 

 

Here is the update of the losses due to recent floods in Bihar  up to 26^th July 2004.

 

No of Districts affected                                    19

No: of Blocks Affected                                   192

No: of GPs aAffected                                    2552

No: of Villages Affected                                 8901

Population Affected                                       21.20 million

Flood Affected Area                                      49.16 Lakh hectares LH

Crops Damaged Over                                    13.42 LH

Value of Crop Damage                                  Rs. 272.33 Crores

Houses Damaged                                         5.10 lakhs

Value of Houses Damaged                           Rs. 146.26 Crores

Loss of Public Property                                 Not Available

Human Lives Lost                                        452

Cattle Lives Lost                                          1669

No: of Boats Deployed                                 6062

Readymade Food Distributed                        601 tons

Grains Distributed                                        55,950 Qtl.

No: of polythene sheets distributed                2,31,776

Cash Dole Distributed                                   Rs. 2.06 Crores

 Source: Department of Disaster Management, Government of Bihar

 Comments

 The loss data indicate that all the north Bihar districts barring earstwhile Saran is under the grip of floods. Bhagalpur, in their records, means Naugachhia.  This is only the first round of floods in the state and some rounds are still due.

 1.      The affected area is reported to be 49.16 lakh hectares (One lakh equals 100,000) which is slightly more than (47.50 lakh hectares) the area affected in 1987, reported to be the worst flood of the last century. In that year southern districts were also affected while in this year, the floods are limited to north Bihar only, so far. The affected area data suggests that 91 per cent of the total area of North Bihar is affected by the floods which, obviously, is not the case. The affected population in 1987 was 286.82 lakhs. It is impossible that when the flood affected area is more this year, the affected population should be less, after accounting for the population rise in the past 15 years.

2.      The crop damaged area is 13.42 lakh hectares and is valued at Rs. 27232.82 Lakhs  implying that the loss of agriculture per hectare is Rs.2030/-per hectare. This is again a ridiculous figure because it needs Rs 2250/- per hectare only for transplanting paddy. We have to add the cost of seeds and sowing to reach a legitimate figure. Further, what the state means by crop loss? The sum suggested does not match even the input costs on the agriculture and the loss to the farmer is that of his final yield and not the input costs. It is also to be noted that in most of the districts, the transplanting was done with the help of diesel pumps at the farmer's own initiative. The state will not replenish such losses but why should it not include the realistic investments?

3.      No: of houses damaged till 26^th July 2004 was 5.10 lakhs valued at Rs. 1462.26 millions. This suggests that the average cost per house is only Rs. 2870/- per house. This is much short of the cost of a 10 ft x 12 ft hut made of bamboo struts and thatch. It must be added here that both these building materials for the poor have become a scarce commodity now.

4.      Number of boats  deployed for moving people to safer places is reported to be 6062. Divide this figure by 21.2 millions of affected people and the boat availability comes to about 3,500 persons per boat. That gives a fair idea of how many people were moved to safer places.

5.      The amount of grains distributed limits to 55950 quintals over a population of 2.12 crores. This gives a per capita availability of 265 grams per person. Even if one assumes that only the people BPL were served with the grains, the per capita availability will only be to the extent of half a kilogram for the entire period the floods. It is unwise to calculate the availability of airdropped food as its impact is very focused and limited to a very small area. However, airdropping of food is quiet glamorous and is of high advertisement value for the state and it will be of interest to find out the handling cost of such supplies in relation to the impact it makes. Moreover, why this supply is to be airdropped when everybody knows that the places like Kusheshwar Asthan to Naugachhia via Khagaria needs such supplies every year?

6.      Distribution of polythene sheets was made to some 2,31,776 families implying that only 11.59 lakhs of population could get some cover over their heads. It also means that only 5.5 per cent of the affected population was covered under this program.

7.      The cash dole given by the Government responds to less than a rupee per person.

8.      When it was told by the Water Resources Department, time and again, that all the arrangements were made to protect the embankments and annul erosion, why should the floods in the state take such an ugly turn?

 

The usual carrots of constructing dam in Barahkshetra are dangled once again. An informed debate is needed over this issue since all the Governments since 1947 have done the same. Recently, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi (5ht June 2004 at Kishangunj), Central Water Resource Development, completed the formality by announcing that negotiations are on with Nepal.

 

The main trouble this year has arisen because there is no body available to pass the buck of floods in the state. Earlier, it was so easy to chant that the center is responsible for the floods in the state and the center used to safely say that the floods are a state subject.

 

Dinesh Mishra
Convenor- Barh Mukti Abhiyan

C-7 Vatika Green City
PO  MGMC  Dimna Road
Jamshedpur  831018
PH: 0657-2362520  /  2650844
Mob: 98351-41262