In river-rich Bihar, a man-made disaster

It has been more than a week since the much-awaited monsoon arrived in Bihar, but people’s water problems are far from over. Women and children waiting for hours and queueing up to collect water from tankers is still a common sight in the state - as in many other parts of the country - and clashes over water are being reported from both urban and rural areas.

“With most water bodies in the state going dry, not just people, even cattle have been left struggling for survival. While farmers and cattle rearers have been forced to sell their livestock, wild animals like deer are found roaming outside villages in search of water,” said a Water Resources Department official.

In Gaya, where everything from handpumps to borewells and even tap water supply has failed, tankers are the only source of water for people since the past two months. Residents said the water crisis is so severe that dozens of families have shifted temporarily to their native villages or elsewhere. According to district officials, Falgu river has lost nearly 60 feet of its water level in the past two years, causing an acute water crisis for over half a million people in Gaya and its neighbouring areas.

But the water crisis is not confined to Gaya. The situation is no different in floodprone Darbhanga and its neighbouring districts in the Mithilanchal region. Narayanjee Choudhary, who runs the Talab Bachao Abhiyan, told IANS: “There were more than 300 ponds in Darbhanga town in the 60s. By the 90s, the number came down to 200, now there are less than 100 ponds left.”

Bihar Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar has ordered all districts to clear encroachments around ponds and work on their restoration and replenishment, along side rainwater harvesting.

What is shocking is that as per the government’s own admission, of the state’s total 1.99 lakh water bodies, 12,027 water bodies, including ponds, have been encroached upon by a nexus of powerful people. The Bihar government admitted this in 2016 after the Patna High Court asked it to identify the number of water bodies in the state, their present status and the action taken to rid them of encroachments.