Sorrow Of Bihar

People would be surprised to know that flood has become part and parcel of life of Bihar. The first time I saw flood was the year 1987, when I was residing at Muzaffarpur (situated on the banks of Gandak). One fine evening because of heavy rain, water entered our rented home, though it was at a good height but still almost one and half feet water level encroached every corner of my home. Life was fun, catching fish, running in water and making water boats were few activities we (me n my childhood friends) engaged in. During nights we were not allowed to step down in water, as small snakes were commonly seen roaming, though they were not dangerous, but you never know, any one of them can have fangs. “Dhorwa” called in local language were common snakes found littering lethargically, and we used to run behind them with sticks making their life hell. That time we used and invented new methods of catching fish and we got bottles and after great hard work we used to catch 3-4 fish of different variety, I kept them for almost 6 months before they died. Those days were total fun days, schools were closed, no home work, no studies, all day catching fishes and making paper boats. We never realized the pain of flood and wished every year this should happen. In my village, which is fortunately, unfortunately situated at the banks of Ganga, flood is common phenomenon but varies in scability, some times flooding only the farm lands some times the low lying villages.

Last year for the first time I went into the flood hit Western part of Bihar, the devastation was caused by the conglomerated of Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Ghaghra, and impact of Kosi was very less. Many towns and villages of Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Begusarai, Khagaria, Seohar were flooded. You can not imagine the scene over there, I saw children playing in water enjoying, I remembered my old days. I talked with some of them, they were happy with it, as they don’t have to do any work, relief camps were there to provide them food. But people have lost their houses, their scanty resources and hopes. There was water everywhere but not a drop to drink. Water filled with dirt and when it receded left numerous diseases making them difficult to survive.

Ironically, I attended a State Level workshop on 10th August at 1 Anne Marg, Patna, called by the state disaster management cell and attended by all big names in the world of development, Oxfam GB, Oxfam Hongkong, CRS, CRY, Save the Children, Medicins sans Frontiers (Doctors without boundary, got noble prize in 1999) , GTZ …….. list goes on. In that meeting I raised the issue of embankment of rivers and but those “brokers” of poverty stopped me from speaking and said “we should focus on relief work”. The country director of CRS, (a foreigner lady) very enthusiastically and proudly said, “we are distributing high protein biscuits for the children”, I said her, even if there is no flood more than half of the children in Bihar are malnutritious, so you continue this project till all the children comes in grade-I list.

With deep frustration and anger, I felt like sitting with the “agents of poor” whose main work is to sell poverty to the world, hence I decided to leave then and there in between. When I was leaving, a young lady doctor came to see me and she was surprised to know that flood is a common phenomenon in Bihar and this is not the first time it has struck. I told her if you stay in India, wait for august and you will get the same news next year only difference will be names of places submerged. After exchanging cards, I left the place.

If she is in India, she must have realized the apathy of life of bihari people who have accepted to fight with death.

Have any one realized that lots of suicide took place in Vidarbha, Karnataka, and AP, but not a single suicide case reported from Bihar. Their whole world has been accumulated into a “dolchi” (box made of plastic wire, commonly found in bihar) and a “lalten” (lantern).

You might be thinking when the water recedes, they will get their land back, I am sorry to say that, rivers take their land too, making them wait for next flood so that they will get their land back from the rivers. I salute to the spirit of Bihari People for their will to survive.
Ask any school going boy/ girl in Bihar “Bihar ka shok kise kahte hain?” (What is the sorrow of Bihar called?) , Unanimously the answer will be : “KOSI"...