Neglected and deprived of their rights for decades, lakhs of people living within Kosi River’s embankments in Bihar’s Supaul district face the fury of floods annually. According to a latest report, they are the victims of injustice caused by policy choices.
As per People’s Commission on Kosi Basin report, released in Patna on Friday, the embankment are spread on 120,000 hectares, and 9.88 lakh people in 380 villages live on the Indian side (as per the 2011 census) while 1.5 lakh people live in 34 villages in Nepal.

Villagers Within Kosi Embankments Suffer ‘Kalapani of Development’

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Gobargada village in Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality Ward No. 13, Saptari, has been inundated after floodwaters from the Saptakoshi river entered the settlement on Friday night. About 200 villagers live in 80 houses in the village. 




Saptakoshi floods inundates Gobargada village in Saptari

People’s Commission on Kosi Basin, an independent commission formed in the light of resolution adopted at Kosi Mahapanchayat held recently in Supaul district to examine and find alternative ways of addressing the annual Kosi flood disasters, has blamed high siltation for the shifting course of the river, infamous as the “sorrow of Bihar". According to the report of the commission, the river has moved 120 Km westward in the last 250 years due to heavy natural sedimentation.

High siltation in Kosi basin triggers river migration and floods: Report

Torrential rain and upstream water completely submerged around 94 percent of the town of Sunamganj and 84 percent of Sylhet districts in northeastern Bangladesh.

A shift in strategy from responding to recurring shocks to anticipating their effects has the potential to break the cycle of increasing reliance on humanitarian aid by protecting the most vulnerable and their livelihoods ahead of time. It can help manage crises in a more efficient and dignified way.

The FAO in consultation with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), and other stakeholders, developed a pre-monsoon anticipatory action response plan for the Haor region under the 'Increasing Capacities and Scale for Anticipatory Action, including Through Social Protection Systems Project' which is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Better preparedness can help Bangladesh cut flood consequences: experts

Currently, floods are affecting over 16 million people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.  In Nepal, the floods began late last week, and although the waters have begun to recede, communities are devastated. According to the Nepali government, the floods have killed at least 120 people, destroyed 7,000 homes, and displaced over 18,000 families. Although the accuracy of much of the data right now is questionable, the Nepali government is in the process of a rapid assessment of damage, and is likely to publicize the results soon.

Floods Devastate Nepal’s Southern Plains

In June 2022, Bangladesh witnessed some of the worst flooding in 122 years in the Sylhet region, hitting at a time when the country was still recovering from floods in late May, caused by the early arrival of the Southasian monsoons.

Villagers Within Kosi Embankments Suffer ‘Kalapani of Development’

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Saptakoshi floods inundates Gobargada village in Saptari

High siltation in Kosi basin triggers river migration and floods: Report

Better preparedness can help Bangladesh cut flood consequences: experts

Floods Devastate Nepal’s Southern Plains

Managing floods in Bangladesh

Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences

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