1. the embankments are breached and the flood water enters into village
Answers
Explanation:
The entire debate on the flood ends
with the words that people should
live with floods. This is interpreted
by different interest groups in the different
ways. To a politician or most of engineers
this phrase is an object of ridicule as they
think that the proponents of the idea are
fatalists who have accepted defeat against
nature.
We know the limitation of modern flood
control technology and that the engineers,
when they talk about living with floods,
flood management instead of flood con-
trol, or the flood plain zoning as the possible
solution to the problem of floods, are
under compulsion to write those prescrip-
tions. The interesting thing is that they
simultaneously talk about big dams as a
permanent solution to the problem of
floods. They maintain that the proposed
Kosi High Dam, for example, will solve
all the flood problem of north Bihar and
that there is no alternative to this dam.
They hold similar views about the pro-
posed Pancheshwar, Karnali, Subansiri,
Dihang and the Tipaimukh dams. These
are the solutions that can be spelt out in
two or three words. To a person who
understands the limitations of technology
and is not amused by the slogans, things
are different. However on the Kosi High
Dam negotiations are going on for past 53
years with Nepal. Nepal has its own pri-
orities. Whenever India has taken up the
issue of construction of dams in Nepal in
past, it has put a condition of providing
it with an alternative trade route on India’s
western coast. India, obviously, do not
agree to this proposal because it has al-
ready given Nepal a trade route on its
eastern coast. This is where the talks break.
India agreed to give Nepal a trade route
during the visit of Nepalese prime min-
ister, Manmohan Adhikari, to India and,
in return, got the permission to study some
dams proposed to be constructed in Nepal.
It took them over 45 years to sort out this
small difference. The water and power
rates, together with the benefits of flood
control, are yet to be resolved. Under the
circumstances floods have to be tackled
at the local level and people’s science and
technology will be the major tool.
There is an incident in the Mahabharata
where the patriarch Bhishma, lying on a
bed of arrows, awaiting his death, gives
sermons to Pandavas every evening on the
various aspects of governance. Once
Yudhishthir asked him about different
kinds of treaties that a king could enter
into with other kings. While defining kinds
of treaties, Bhishma narrates this story of
the ocean and his wives, the rivers. Once
the ocean called all his wives and said,
“Rivers! I notice that during floods you
get filled to the brim and uproot big trees
and carry them with their roots and branches
to me but the cane is not seen in your flow.
The cane is a thin and very insignificant
plant. It has no strength of its own and
grows all along your banks. Still, you are
not able to bring it to me. Do you avoid
the plant or has it done some good to you
(that you favour it). I want to hear about
it (from you) why this plant does not leave
your banks and come here.”
Ganga replies, “O Lord of rivers! The
big trees, because of their arrogance, do
not bow before the might of our flow.
Because of this confront nature, they get
destroyed and have to leave their places
but the cane is not like them. The cane
bows before the swift currents and when
the river subsides, it regains its place. The
cane understands the times and behaves
accordingly; it is always in our grip and
never misbehaves with us. There are no
traces of arrogance in it and that is the
reason why it hasn’t got to leave its place.
The plants, the trees and the creepers which
bow before the might of winds and the
rivers and raise their heads only when the
wind or the river subsides, are never
destroyed.” Bhishma says “...when a
learned king assesses that the opponent is
more powerful, he should behave like a
cane and must bow before the mighty.
There lies wisdom”.1 Bhishma’s teaching
is one of the first lessons in dealing with
the rivers.
The arrogance of scientists and engi-
neers in controlling the nature has created
more problems than solved them. We keep
hearing about ‘flood-resistant houses’,
‘flood-resistant crops’ and ‘flood-proof-
ing’ and so on. Why cannot we have flood-
tolerant houses and flood-tolerant crops.
Why don’t we think of converting the
flood water into a resource instead of
dealing with it as a problem?
Case of Partapur
On the bank of Balan River in
Jhanjharpur block of the Madhubani dis-
trict, in Bihar, there used to be a village
called Partapur. thanks