Patna: Bihar Government has approved 8 Anti-erosion schemes in wake of 2015 flood season. In the meeting of flood control Council presided by Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi, these 8 schemes were approved, including Repair of Munger Ganga Ghat, Bettiah-Gopalganj Bridge, and Kosi Embankments. Deforestation in the catchment area along these embankments has led to increase in the silt content of the river flow.
It was the 50th meeting of Flood Control Council and was attended by several minister of the state government including water resources minister Vijendra Choudhary.
Fast implementation of these Anti-Erosion schemes are necessary keeping in mind that Bihar is India’s most flood-prone State, with 76% of the population in the north Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood devastation.
In 1954, when the Bihar flood policy was first introduced, Bihar had approximately 160 km of embankments. At this time it has 3,465 km of embankments constructed. However erosion and silt deposit inside these embankments has proved detrimental to the cause.
In case of several rivers in North Bihar, it has been found that the river bed has gone several feet higher than the adjoining land resulting in low lands remaining permanently waterlogged.
Floods in Bihar are a recurring disaster which on an annual basis destroys thousands of human lives apart from livestock and assets worth millions.
2008 and 2013 Flood in Bihar affected more than 10 million people in 3,768 villages in 20 districts of the state.