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ASIAN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CENTER

DISASTER MANAGEMENT COURSE - 29 NOVEMBER 4 22, 2002 INDIVIDUAL COURSE REQUIREMENT (DMC 29)
Paper on

FLOODS IN NORTH BIHAR PLAINS A CASE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Submitted by

Neeraj Labh Initiatives In Development Support PATNA BIHAR INDIA Tel: 00 91 612 266 315 E-mail: nelabh@sancharnet.in

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1. Introduction 1.1 Background In India, nearly 75 per cent of the total rainfall is concentrated over a short monsoon season of four months (June-September). As a result the rivers witness a heavy discharge during these months, leading to widespread floods. Floods are a regular feature of Eastern India where the Himalayan rivers inundate large parts of its catchment areas, uprooting houses, disrupting livelihoods and damaging infrastructure. The flood hazard is compounded by the problems of sediment deposition, drainage congestion and synchronisation of river floods with storm surges in the coastal plains. The most flood-prone areas are the Brahmaputra and Gangetic basins in the Indo-Gangetic plains. While the area liable to floods is 40 million hectares, the average area affected by floods annually is about 8 million hectares. The annual average cropped area affected is approximately 3.7 million hectares. The State of Bihar is the worst flood affected state in the country, accounting for 17% of the flood prone area of the country. After separation of Jharkhand in 2000 Bihar is primarily an agriculture dependent state. The state is geographically situated between the 2158'10'' E and 2731'15'' E latitudes and 8219'50'' N and 8817'40'' N longitudes. The state covers an area of 9.42 million hectares and is a basically plain area lying at an altitude of 173 Ft above Mean Sea Level. Bihar is an entirely landlocked state. Although the outlet to the sea through the port of Kolkata is not far away, Bihar lies midway between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. The neighboring states & country are Nepal in its North, Jharkhand in its South, West Bengal in its East & Uttar Pradesh in the West. Bihar is located in the eastern part of the country. The river Ganges divides the state into North & South. According to the 2001 census it has a total population of 82.88 million which is 8.06 % of the population of the country. The density of population in the state is 880 per square Km against the country average of 324. The state in terms of its geographical situation is the most flood affected state in the country. Out of 9.42 million hectares of geographical area, 6.88 million hectares are

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flood prone areas i.e. 73.3 % of the total area is prone to flood. Out of the total area North Bihar has 5.85 million hectares and out of that 4.45 million hectares are flood prone i.e. 77% of the north Bihar is vulnerable to flood. Due to cyclical and climatological factors the problems of flood are confined not only to the plains of North Bihar, but cover large tracts of South Bihar too. Presently 30 out of 37 districts of the state are flood prone. In the report of the Rashtriya Barh Ayog (National Flood Commission) (1980) the figures for the flood prone area stands at 4.2 million hectares. Due to changes in the river regime now 6.88 million hectares are flood prone according to the Master Plan(Vol I) prepared by the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC)/Second Bihar State Irrigation Commission (1994). The wide spread and pervasive nature of the problem is evident from the following chart

Zone

Total area (in M Ha)

Flood Prone

% of flood area zone wise

Length of protective embankments (in Km)

Protected area ( in M Ha)

Geographical area (in M Ha) Prone of total flood

(a) North Bihar 5.85 (b) Central Bihar Total 9.42 3.57

4.45 2.43

76.02 68.25

2952 478

2.51 .44

6.88

73.06

3430

2.95

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE PAPER In between 1979 and 2001, floods of varying intensity have ravaged Bihar on an annually recurrent basis affecting on an average an area of 1.4 mha, a human population of 7.3 milion and a livestock population of 1.2 million per annum. Crop losses have been on an average to the tune of Rs 1248 million per annum and that of public property to the tune of Rs 23.41 million. Loss of human lives has been on an average of 181 per annum and that of livestock at 616 per annum. Given the annual recurrence and the varying intensity of damages inflicted by floods, this paper proposes to lookinto the causes and impact of floods, the factors that have aggravated the debilitating impact of floods, the response of the various stakeholders ranging from the State, the civil

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society to the vulnerable communities and in light of the findings make some corrective recommendations. 2. CAUSES OF FLOODS North Bihar Plains are drained by an extensive network of rivers most of which flow into the Ganga. Main among these are the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Burhi Gandak the Bagmati Adhwara, the Kamla-Balan the Kosi and the Mahananda. Practically all of these have a part of their catchments in the Nepal Himalayas with Gandak and Kosi having a part in Tibet as well. The catchments of all these rivers receive more than 80% of their annual precipitation from June to September. Consequently, the bulk of their annual run-off and high sediment load (as high as 80%) is from June to October. All these rivers carry a heavy sediment load. With the exception of Burhi Gandak, they have a steep course in their upper Himalayan reaches but face very abrupt flattening of the gradient on entering the North Bihar plains. This considerably retards their sediment carrying capacity and what follows is an excessive siltation of their beds in the lower reaches. This lends the rivers an aggrading character and consequently a reduced channel capacity. The aggrading character of these rivers, with their built -up river beds, obstructs the natural drainage and the phenomenon of braiding is typical to most of them. Shift in courses is a recurring feature. Most rivers have a network of abandoned courses which serve as spill-drainage-channels during floods. Floods in North Bihar occur between June and October and are precipitated by a

combination of the following factors:

heavy rainfall, both in the upper and lower, catchments of the river systems namely, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Burhi Gandak, the Adhwara group of rivers, the Bagmati, the Kamla Balan, the Kosi and the Mahananda reduced channel capacity of these rivers due to heavy sedimentation on their beds and the consequent aggradation of their beds shifts in river courses due to their aggrading beds shifts in river courses eroding embankments and causing breaches volumetric build up of water within the embanked area causing breaches in the embankments

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shifting flows finding their way out through the unplugged breaches in the embankment excessive flow through the breaches leading to revival of dead channels which have added to the outreach of flood waters breaches in overflowing irrigation canals further compounding the problem. with Ganga in spate and into which all these riivers drain, flooding by these rivers is compounded due to the backwash effect 2.1 IMPACT OF FLOODS Floods in Bihar affect human and cattle population quite extensively on an annually recurring basis. Crops damages are extensive and this has its direct impact on the livelihood and nutritional status of the poor. In an infrastructurally backward area like North Bihar with hardly any secondary or tertiary sector worth its name, the situation spells a colossal disaster for the poor in particular who, year after year, are robbed of their primary income earning opportunity through agriculture wage earning or subsistence share cropping. With a section of the adult male population taking recourse to migration to other states for wage earning, the elderly, the women and the children are in a particularly grim situation and confronted with near starvation like situation. Every flood hurls them deeper into debt bondage as they have to take recourse to money lenders to keep their lives together. Even this money at usurious rates of 60 to 120% per annum is hard to come by and several rounds have to be made and wageless labour rendered to have this money. For their nutrition people in certain pockets are left dependent on some leafy undergrowth and snails and small fishes that the floods bring along with them. The absence of dry fuel in many instances forces people to eat raw food with its attendant health related problems. Declining nutritional intake increasingly saps the morale and physique of the people rendering them more and more vulnerable. The agony of the poor is compounded by the fact that many have their houses completely or partially damaged and, in many instances, their habitations get submerged for varying lengths of time. Consequently, many of them have to stay out in the open either on some high ground within the village or else on embankments braving the monsoonal downpour. With limited dry space available, the people are forced to share their place with poisonous snakes and it is not infrequently that one hears of snakebites

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and deaths following from it. related problems. Access to safe drinking water confronts the poor as another major problem. Existing hand pumps get submerged in water or else get silted up or are damaged by the gush of the flood waters. With many people having to live on embankments under marooned conditions access to hand pumps is further hindered. Perforce having to drink unclean stagnant water, results in its own set of health related problems. Declining nutritional intake coupled with unhygienic and unsafe living conditions takes its own toll in terms of the spread of diseases like diarhhoea, fever, cold and cough, pneumonia, skin and eye infection, malaria and kalazaar. Incidence of severe malnutrition among the affected children looms large as a threat. So does the incidence of malnutrition and anaemia among the pregnant mothers. Flood induced seasonal migration of the local adult male population in search of wage earning opportunities, which earlier was primarily confined to the agriculturally prosperous pockets of Punjab and Haryana, has over the past decade diversified to urban conglomerates like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Surat and Ahmedabad. This has added another twist to the health problems of the area. North Bihar has been incrementally registering instances of HIV positive cases. The real extent of the problem is still far from visible owing to the poor medical infrastructure in the region. However, in knowledgeable circles, several rate it as one of the hottest spots for the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. In an area intensively dissected by rivers and with vast areas submerged, the movement of the affected population is gravely restricted by the virtual absence of boats. Damages to roads, bridges and culverts further hinder mobility. Compulsions of livelihood like procuring necessities from the market or finding employment in adjacent areas or procuring fodder for their livestock, force the poor to wade through deep and torrential waters occasionally resulting in death due to drowning. Instances of overloaded boats capsizing are also not uncommon. Even reaching out any material support to them becomes a stupendous task due to ruptured communication. As far as reaching medical assistance to the severely ill is concerned, their plight can well be imagined. The scarcity of dry space also makes the places of

habitation double up as places of defecation with its attendant hygiene and sanitation

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Damage to public utilities like schools and hospitals further constrict the access of the poor to these which even in normal times are well below the adequacy requirements. In a state charecterised as one of the poorest in the country and perpetually financially besieged, restoration of this rudimentary infrastructure has to languish for years. Recurrence of the damages inflicted by floods have been a disincentive to any investments, public or private, in infrastructure and as a natural corollary to it in industry. This has further hindered reduction in pressure of population on flood plains as there is hardly any tertiary or secondary sector to divert the labour off land. Sustainable livelihood index analysis conducted for 80 agro-climatic sub zones revealed that all the five sub-zones of Bihar namely, north Bihar plains, North-eastern plains, South-Bihar plains, Chota Nagpur hills and Chota Nagpur Plateau rank at the bottom requiring urgent intervention. Evidently, poverty is most widespread in areas that are more vulnerable to natural disasters. These areas are also poorly ranked in terms of sustainability-ecological, economic and equity based indexing. The flood-prone regions of north Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh and north Bengal, and the drought-prone regions of Rajasthan, Marathwada in Maharashtra and north Karnataka, drought and flood prone regions of Orissa are all examples of the nexus between poverty-sustainabilityvulnerability getting reinforced over the years. Not only are the poor the worst-hit, but their capacity to recover from a disaster is also limited by their social, economic and political situation. In India, the vulnerabilities are inextricably linked to certain processes of marginalisation that protect the interests of particular groups and areas at the cost of others. The basic needs of a large population are not satisfied. Nearly one-third of India's people live in poverty, one-third of adult males and two-thirds of adult females are illiterate and two-thirds of India's children aged 0-4 years are malnourished (Info Change, 2002). 3. RESPONSE OF THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS 3.1 STATE RESPONSE AND ITS LIMITATIONS The state has not been a passive observer of the recurrent problem of floods. In fact in post independence India, the state in many instances, by its acts of omission and

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commission has contributed to the problem of aggravation of the impact of floods. Some of these could be enumerated as follows: Developmental neglect of the area, coupled with a burgeoning population, have added to the pressure on land leading to an increasing occupancy of flood plains. With more habitation in way of floods, the damages have naturally gone up. Rather than enforce land use regulation, the state has been a perpetrator of land use abuse. Most rivers had a network of abandoned courses, which served as spill-drainagechannels during floods. Many of these courses have been used to settle the landless as an act of political expediency in order to get around the more contentious issue of enforcing land reforms and using the surplus thus generated for their settlement. Similarly, numerous depression tracts which had served as natural detention basins, have been reclaimed over the years leading to acute drainage congestion and multiplying flood damage costs as more human settlements are now situated in floodways. In an area, with one of the highest ground water tables in the country, the state has again been misplaced in promoting surface irrigation works through construction of irrigation canals. Ideally the state government should have promoted ground water irrigation for winter crop to enhance the sub soil storage capacity for flood-waters to seep in. Instead we now have a scenario wherein a high ground water table inhibits downward percolation of flood waters thus rendering low lying areas water logged for periods extending way beyond subsidence of water level in the river courses. In such areas not only is the summer crop lost but chances for cultivating winter crop are also rendered bleak. Moreover, surface irrigation works further compound the problem by adding to the water logged area trough lateral seepage. Again the development of roads and railways in the area have been in gross violation of the drainage profile of area. While the rivers of North Bihar have a north-south flow draining into the Ganges which has a west-east flow in the state, the major roads and railways also cut through the state along the alignment of the Ganges. Still they have not been provided with adequate causeways to account for peak flows in the North Bihar rivers. This has compounded the problem of flooding in North Bihar plains.

Its efforts have even been misplaced in being geared towards undertaking flood control works through construction of structural works like embankments. Since 1954 around Rs 7000 million have been spent on the construction of embankments. Still the flood prone area which stood at 2.5 mha in 1954 has gone up to 6.9 mha and protection has been extended to just 2.95 mha. Flood damages as a natural corollary have been on the ascendant and further exacerbated by the construction of embankments. Even this limited protection has been somewhat fragile as the existing embankments are under increasing pressure due to rise in the bed level of rivers due to heavy silts brought by the rivers from Nepal. This causes High Flood Level and frequent breaches or over topping of embankments. The works of raising and strengthening of these embankments are held up due to paucity of funds since many years. For want of adequate funds, works of ongoing embankment schemes are also held up and are not being executed as per the requirements. Due to abnormal changes in river courses, anti erosion works for protection of embankment and some very essential flood fighting works become essential every year. While realizing the limitations of embankments, the government is still far from giving up its stress on flood control measures. Its argument as of now advocates construction of high dams on the North Bihar rivers in their upper catchments falling in Nepal in order to regulate water flows downstream. Though an early warning system, comprising rain gauge stations and flood level monitoring stations spread over India and Nepal, are in place they call for considerable revamping both in terms of desired numbers as well a communication flow. early warning, is severely constrained. Additionally the state has responded to the problem of floods by undertaking relief and rehabilitation works. At the state level the relief efforts are coordinated by the Relief and Rehabilitation Department of the Government of Bihar and carried out by the various departments of the state Government. The district administration, headed by the District Magistrate, is the channeling and coordinating agency for the various relief initiatives at the field level. The outreach and the effectiveness of the alerting system, which eventually makes sense of

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Since 1990 there has been a definite streamlining of the relief and rehabilitative efforts of the state, in the sense, that this expenditure head is provided for in the annual state budget. Still the outlay has been far from adequate to the extent of requirement. Moreover, there is still no preparedness plan in place and the state machinery gets activated only after the disaster occurs. The outreach of what is available is further limited by the loop holes in the delivery mechanism of the state. The governments response over the years has been reactive and primarily in the nature of fire fighting. Very little thought has gone into issues of flood preparedness and flood mitigation. The result has been a colossal loss of resources, both in terms of flood damages as well as expenses on relief operations, with no improvement whatsoever in this state of affairs. Still worse the region has been hurled into a development limbo. Recovery efforts are largely restricted to make shift repairs of damaged infrastructure and deferment or waiver of loans. The latter essentially benefits the better off as formal credit coverage of the poor and marginal is very poor. allowance for disruptions caused by floods. Institutions of local governance (the panchayati raj institutions) that had had their last elections in the state in 1978 were revived only last year following panchayat elections after a gap of 23 years. The elected representatives are still in the process of However, their centrality in any initiative discovering the greater devolution of powers as assured to them under 73rd and 74th amendment of the Indian Constitution. addressing the issue of floods in future needs to be borne in mind. 3.2 RESPONSE OF CIVIL SOCIETY NGOs operational in the area have primarily responded to floods by undertaking relief works entailing food support, medical assistance, provision of handpumps, provision of temporary shelters and provision of boats to the affected . Some, when the situation permits, promote food for work programmes focussed on restoration of community assets like ponds and village roads. However, their efforts are largely a post crisis Micro-credit interventions, targetted at the poor and backed by the state, are operational in the area but make no

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response and do not reflect any pre-crisis preparedness. The relief assistance

extended is contingent on the resources available and not on the actual extent of support required by the victims. Moreover, the relief assistance often reaches the poor when their peak crisis has tapered off. Ironically some of the NGOs involved in relief interventions are also involved in long term development programmes but do not have disaster proneness of the area factored into their development plans. Even donors do not take an exception to it and some shrug off any request for relief on the plea that they fund only development programmes. These years have increasingly seen a growing body of opinion that looks upon flood control as being in contradiction to the riverine regime of North Bihar and instead argues for an approach premised on learning to live with floods. To this end it advocates that flood plain management should substitute the hitherto dominant approach of flood control. High on its agenda have been the issues of doing away with embankments, strengthening of early warning and alerting system, promotion of alternative cropping practices and decongestion of flood drainage channels. 3.3 Response of Vulnerable Communities This remains one of the least researched and documented facet of the whole scenario. Debt bondage is very much a reality but its dynamics have hardly been researched. In a context of ever accumulating loans, how does the informal credit market stayafloat? Migration of the adult male population is another recourse taken to by the poor families. However, there are no studies documenting the extent of money remittances pump into the local economy andits role in keeping the local economy afloat. Given the poor outreach of relief, how do poor families survive? An answer to this would provide interesting insights into the coping mechanisms they take recourse to. Here sight should not be lost of the fact that the region is a chronically malnourished area with a very high incidence of malnutrition among children which in many instances also gets reflected in their anthropometric measurements (stunted growth).

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4. RATIONALE FOR THE SHIFT FROM RELIEF AND REHABILITATION TO DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT Recognition of the increasing cost and complexity of emergency relief operations has focused attention on taking preventive action and planning for disaster before they happen. It is becoming increasingly evident now that a relatively smaller investment in disaster preparedness can save thousands of lives and vital economic assets, as well as reduce the cost of overall relief assistance. A 'natural disaster' is the result of a natural hazard - a flood or earthquake - striking people and property. The scale of the disaster is the extent to which it damages these. An earthquake in an uninhabited area or a cyclone in a remote part of the ocean are not disasters, merely geological or meteorological events. Disaster statistics are hard to calculate with any accuracy or consistency. Nonetheless, all the evidence points to a steep and continuing rise in deaths and injuries from disasters since the 1960s, and there is a general consensus among researchers and insurers that the number of disasters is increasing. This rise cannot be explained by a parallel rise in the number of earthquakes, cyclones and the like. What we are seeing is an increase in the effects of disasters on people - or, in other words, an increase in people's vulnerability to disasters. It is the social, cultural, economic and political environment that makes people vulnerable. This is most apparent in the economic pressures that force many of the poor to live in cheap but dangerous locations such as flood plains and unstable hillsides; but there are many less visible underlying factors social and political as well as economic - that affect people's ability to protect themselves against disasters or to recover from them. Some groups are more vulnerable than others. Class, caste, ethnicity, gender, disability and age are all factors affecting people's vulnerability. Those who are already at an economic or social disadvantage because of one or more of these characteristics tend to be more likely to suffer during disasters. Little wonder then that recipients of both disaster and development are increasingly becoming one and the same, usually the poorest and the weakest groups within the developing countries. no exception. Attempts need to be geared, though the nature of floods make any set of interventions quite complex and a function of the inter-relatedness of all relevant stakeholders around Hence, it is important that Disaster Risk Management is an integral component of any development planning, the case of North Bihar plains being

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a shared perspective, towards addressing the issue of Bihar floods at all the levels of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In a mid term perspective it now appears almost to be a foregone conclusion that the focus needs to shift from flood control to flood management. Technological and engineering interventions instead of abating have exacerbated the flood situation and have revealed new dimensions of misery which were unanticipated, to say the least, at the time of conceptualization and initiation of flood protection works in the form of construction of embankments. To top it all the maintenance of the embankments is an unwanted burden for the taxpayer and greases the pockets of the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus. 5. PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS 5.1 In the mitigation framework the strategies need to focus upon formulation of policies and actions, operationalisation of which is expected to minimize the damages caused when the event occurs. In the context of floods any such event would require increased coordination among all stakeholders functional in the area. However, the coordination should base itself on a thorough assessment of the realities at the ground level. Here an honest reflection on part of the government regarding the policies pursued by it would go a long way in formulating measures which can bring about meaningful changes in the flood mitigation direction. Nevertheless, there is now greater understanding of the need for close cooperation among all the various agencies involved to achieve a new more integrated approach to humanitarian assistance. The issues on hand are many: 5.1.1 A careful study of the traditional practices is the need of the hour. The study would reveal the living pattern and coping mechanism of the people in the flood prone areas as well as peoples strategies of facing the floods 5.1.2 Increased inter-departmental coordination at the government level is eminently desirable. For instance, Public Works, Railways, Irrigation, Relief and Rehabilitation departments need to undertake projects in a coordinated manner oriented towards channel improvements and diversion schemes so that drainage pattern of the flood plains can be decongested and revived to the extent possible. Settlement policies and land use regulation should be rooted in principles of rejuvenation of natural drainage.

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Networks, movements, NGOs in consultation with the CBOs, who enjoy significant edge over the government machinery because of their intensive engagement with the micro context, can help evolve suitable yardsticks and recommendations and thereby encourage the government to adopt the same. 5.1.3 Planned investment in the local economy is another area which could significantly contribute towards flood mitigation process. Better use of aid to kick-start local economies and support livelihoods at the community level is needed. Research suggests that sustainable livelihoods and access to resources play a more crucial role in determining the vulnerability of inhabitants to flood. Measures need to be geared to promote a diverse resource base at the community level. The diversification of the resource base is inextricably linked to the issue of food security. Given the subsistence oriented nature of farming of the landless, small and marginal farmers of North Bihar, the destruction of the summer crop which has traditionally constituted the major crop of the region, agriculture hardly qualifies as a viable livelihood option. Migration seems the only option in such a context. This would necessitate an in-depth analysis of the local economy which would entail: a) Exploring possibilities of modified agronomic practices such as rescheduling of agricultural operations and the extension services required thereby b) Promotion of crops grown over sand cast lands; inter cropping practices should be encouraged; replicable agricultural practices in flood context elsewhere should be identified and promoted. (For instance in Bangladesh, the farmers are reported to prepare emergency seed beds on the floating bamboo platform and anchor them to some strong object. In case transplanted paddy is drowned, replantation becomes easy with the use of floating seedbeds [ADAB 1998]) c) Irrigation possibilities for cultivation in flood free months d) Promotion of agricultural cooperatives of small and marginal farmers and enable their access to institutional resources and increased crop yield through consolidated holdings. e) Setting up of grain banks to cater to the nutrition needs of the most vulnerable during the floods and restrict, to the extent possible, their dependence on usury to address food security needs. f) Identification of viable livelihood activities in the non-farm sector and the commensurate capacitation of the beneficiaries in the skills required thereof

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g) Micro-finance initiatives factoring in the disaster proneness of the area and targetted at the vulnerable 5.1.4 Advocacy centred initiatives need to be reviewed both in terms of the content and the strategies deployed for their pursuit. In face of challenges such as loss of life and property, severe health hazards of epidemic proportions, permanent loss of livelihood owing to waterlogging, sand casting, loss of land between the embankments, distress mass migration, to recount a few, only by a combination of action and advocacy will genuine disaster recovery stand a chance. Advocacy initiatives should attempt to evoke an honest dialogue between all relevant stakeholders ranging from the community to NGOs to governments and donors about the limits of humanitarian action and the responsibilities of politicians and bureaucrats in tackling roots causes and root solutions. In terms of strategies, besides continued interface and consultation around concrete micro and macro plans, disasters present the chance to seize the media spotlight and focus it towards root causes. Some of the focus issues of any meaningful advocacy would comprise: a) Ensure review of government relief and rehabilitation plans with the intent of securing timely and speedy implementation of existing and revised relief measures. b) Ensure regular updating of codes, manuals, Disaster Risk Management plans, items of relief and norms of government assistance. c) Poorest of the poor should be the priority focus of government interventions d) Work towards enhancing budgetary allocations towards flood relief and rehabilitation measures in the state as well as central budget. e) Ensure increased coordination among CBOs, NGOs, donors and governments in working out emergency plans and their subsequent implementation f) Promote the conceptualization, adoption and implementation of viable insurance policies to cover the loss of life and property damages incurred by the poor. g) Influence government policies into decentralizing budgetary allocations and responsibilities to various levels of Panchayati Raj Institutions to utilise the funds thereby towards planning and implementation of appropriate relief and

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rehabilitation interventions. Panchayat representatives should be actively

involved in river basin management. h) Work towards appropriate modifications in the structural interventions undertaken by the government for flood control as these interventions have compounded the problem of flooding over the years. i) Work towards decongestion of the drainage network where the government has been culpable in settling the poor. This would entail simultaneously working on enforcement of land reforms so that the surplus thus generated is used for resettling the poor inhabiting the vulnerable pockets of the flood plains. j) Ensure enforcement of appropriate land use practices

5.1.5 The overall thrust of the advocacy should be into dovetailing risk and Disaster Risk Management plans into the development interventions planned for disaster prone areas. The opportunities to mitigate future disasters will never be attained unless governments analyse risks and develop Disaster Risk Management plans as integral to its ongoing development and welfare programmes. 5.1.6 Management and curbing the incidences of social disruption caused by disasters, in this case the floods, is a crucial obligation of all the stakeholders involved in disaster situations. Migration renders large number of villages bereft of adult male with women, children and aged left behind to attend to survival issues. Basic health care services are inaccessible. Psychological trauma, though unrecognized, is a widespread phenomenon with no support services available to enable these vulnerable groups to cope with the disaster. 5.2 At the level of disaster preparedness the broad objective is to enhance the ability to respond when disaster occurs. Preparedness activities in the context of North Bihar flood would include, in general terms, the formulation of emergency plans, providing training to disaster responders and general public to improve their understanding of to do when disaster occurs, communicating with public, government and other stakeholders about levels of disaster vulnerability and what to do to reduce to reduce that vulnerability; and other related activities. In specific terms following interventions

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would be required to create a measure of preparedness among the flood affected populace. 5.2.1At the outset a detailed Hazard, Vulnerability and Capability mapping seems crucial to any preparedness initiative. This exercise needs to identify the proneness of various regions to floods in terms of severity and extent. It should also be a reliable pointer towards the anticipated impact of floods in various regions. The prioritization of the flood affected people in terms of vulnerability would also inhere in any such exercise. Social and economic coordinates as well as physical location of the community constitutes the guiding principle of any such exercise. Vulnerability mapping presupposes effective government, NGOs and community coordination. Sharing of the outcome and findings of the mapping exercise at all levels in a user friendly manner is another crucial component in disaster preparedness. Vulnerability maps would also significantly reduce mismanagement of relief and rehabilitation efforts. 5.2.2Based on vulnerability and inundation maps along with an analysis of earlier disaster experiences, preparedness activities should include setting up of a disaster relief machinery, formulation of emergency plans, training of specific groups (including vulnerable communities) to undertake rescue and relief, stockpiling supplies and earmarking funds for relief operations. Rehearsing these plans in a pre-disaster scenario can help identify practical bottlenecks and problems followed by their subsequent plugging. Roles and responsibilities associated with the operationalisation of these emergency plans require clear delineation. Capacitation needs towards effective dispensation of expected roles and responsibilities also need to be identified and addressed. Integration of community inputs in terms of its traditional coping mechanisms can further consolidate and strengthen emergency plans. 5.2.3All these efforts will go waste if not supported by a well-built system of warning and alerting about the possible flood or breach. This entails an integrated advanced warning system involving a strengthened flood forecasting network, an efficient down stream early warning system, an evacuation plan, a well equipped search and rescue squad and a decentralized inventory of adequate relief materials. for effective dissemination of flood warning information. Existing communication systems should be optimally utilised and new and innovative means need to be identified

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5.2.4All the construction departments should evolve specific quality control system and specifications for the construction of physical infrastructure so that these could withstand floods. Appropriate technology with cost consideration should be used to safeguard the physical infrastructure and public utility facilities from recurring disasters and thus minimise costs of repair and reconstruction. 5.2.5A community based Disaster Risk Management committee with a task force of volunteers appropriately trained in performing the role of first responders would trigger an immediate response in the event of an emergency preventing outbreak of epidemics and loss of life. 6. CONCLUSION The propositions for the paradigmatic shift from relief and rehabilitation to Disaster Risk Management are not an easy task to accomplish particularly given the poor governance and the myopic political leadership that the state of Bihar is notorious for. Here NGOs and civil society actors have a critical role to fulfil: be advocates and watchdogs and come forth with workable models of community based Disaster Risk Management to reinforce their role as advocates. To their advantage the draft of a national policy framework to be called the National Calamity Management Act and inhering the essentials of Disaster Risk Management is on the verge of enactment. The act provides for a coordinated mechanism for Management of calamities including measures related to prevention, reduction, mitigation, response, providing rescue, relief and /or rehabilitation right from the National to the State to the District level with a clear cut power, function and responsibility structure. The act would provide the NGOs with the necessary legal framework in which to pursue their advocacy and watchdog roles. The act simultaneously would act as a pressure on the state government to act. The year 2002 has seen some more welcome change with donors beginning to address the issue of Disaster Risk Management in the case of North Bihar Plains. Disaster Risk Management. However, a fundamental task remains i.e. the capacity building of NGOs themselves on the issue of

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References: Agarwal, Anil and Narayan Sunita (ed.), Flood, Flood Plains and Environmental Myths, New Delhi: Centre For Science and Environment, 1991 Mishra D.K, North Bihar Floods and the Proposed Dams in Nepal, World Commission on Dams, South Asia Consultations, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 10-11 December, 1998 Twigg, John, `Disasters, development and vulnerability Mitchell, John, `Protecting Development Benson, Charlotte, `The cost of disasters Oelreich, von Eva, `'LVDVWHUVQHHGQRWGHVWUR\GHYHORSPHQW International federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2001, 2002; World Disasters Report Focus on Reducing Risks, Geneva Official Web Site of Department of Relief and Rehabilitation, Government of Bihar www.bihar.nic.in Official Web Site of United Nations Disaster Risk Management Team, Bihar Unit

www.bihar-disastermanagement.org
Draft of the National Calamity Management Act