Bihar floods latest flash point in JD(U)-BJP ties

NEW DELHI: Flooding in various parts of Bihar threatens to emerge as the latest flashpoint between the JD(U) and the BJP, the coalition partners in the state, with the Bihar administration planning to knock on the Centre’s doors again to seek implementation of a slew of measures, including framing a national silting policy and re-visiting the design of the Farakka barrage, which the state blames for annual floods.

According to people aware of the details, the Bihar administration will take up the flooding issue with the Union government over the coming week. “On several occasions in the past few years, the state government has brought to the notice of the Centre how the Farakka barrage has become a reason for floods in the state, especially during the monsoon. The barrage is not designed to cope with the quantum of water that is now being released from its gates and there is no real-time data available for the same,” said a functionary aware of the details.

The barrage with 109 gates across the Ganga in Murshidabad district of West Bengal was constructed in 1961 and completed nearly a decade later.

Bihar’s minister for water resources Sanjay Kumar Jha told HT that he is hopeful the Centre would act on suggestions made by the state government. “Since 2017 we have drawn attention to certain issues that need to be addressed and we are hopeful that the government will act fast on these including re-visiting the design of the barrage,” he said.

Heavy silting for one has been red flagged as a major cause of concern. The state blames the Centre’s lack of policy for not carrying out routing de-silting exercises that could prevent the annual loss of lives and property attributed to the flooding.