The Koshi embankments were built in late 1950s to retain the
Kosi River
The Kosi or Koshi ( ne, कोशी, , hi, कोसी, ) is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence o ...
which is a transboundary river between
Nepal and
India and is one of the largest tributaries of the
Ganges. It was conceptualised during the first Bihar Government of CM Shri Babu and his deputy Anugraha Babu.
According to the agreement with Nepal, the responsibility of maintaining these embankments was vested in the
Government of Bihar.
History of breaches
*1963 : Breach in the western embankment in Nepal near the village
Dalwa.
Binodanand Jha
Binodanand Jha (17 April 1900 – 1971), also known as Pandit Binodanand Jha was an Indian politician originally from the district of Deoghar, Bihar (Baidyanathdham Deoghar), now in Jharkhand. He was educated at the Central Calcutta College, ( ...
of the
Congress Party
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
was the chief minister. The breach was blamed on rats and foxes digging holes in the embankments causing water seepage and the embankment failed. The other reason for the failure was given that because of the bad road conditions, the boulders could not be brought to the site.
*1968 : Breach at five places in
Jamalpur (
Darbhanga
Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region.
Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...
), caused by the highest flow of ever recorded in the river. Enquiry held by the Chief Engineer – Floods of CWC, P N Kumra revealed that the failure was once again caused by rats and foxes. The state was under the President's rule then.
*1971 : The Bhatania Approach :Bundh that was constructed in 1968–69, collapsed between 10th to 19th kilometers below Bhimnagar in 1971 and many villages were washed away, but the eastern embankment had not breached.
*1980 : Breach near Bahuarawa on the eastern embankment in Salkhua block of
Saharsa district near 121st kilometer below Bhimnagar. The river eroded the embankment in about 2 kilometers reach, but just after eroding, it receded very fast and did not spill onto the countryside. The state was ruled by Dr
Jagannath Mishra of Congress Party then.
*1984 : A tragedy as bad as 1968 struck the eastern embankment near Hempur village in the Navhatta block of Saharsa district, 75 kilometers below the Bhimnagar barrage. It uprooted half a million people and flooded engulfed 96 villages in 7 blocks of Saharsa and
Supaul district
Supaul district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India. The town Supaul is the district's administrative headquarters. The district, which was split from the former Saharsa district on 14 March 1991, occupies .
History
Supaul, w ...
s. People could go back to their villages only after the Holi festival of 1985 when the breach got plugged. The breach was repaired at a cost of Rs. 8.2
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
. Bindeshwari Dubey of Congress Party was the Chief Minister.
*1987 : A Breach in the western embankment near km 44.00 barhampur(Gandaul) village too much lost of property and lives no any enquiry initiated due to lack of people interest.
*1991 : A breach in the western embankment near Joginia in Nepal. It led to a political crisis in Bihar and the
Water Resources
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...
Minister of the state had to resign his post. This resignation was never accepted by
Lalu Prasad Yadav who was the Chief Minister of the state then. This was a repeat performance of the Bahuarawa breach where the river had receded after eroding the embankment.
*2008: see
2008 Bihar flood
The 2008 Bihar flood was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of Bihar, an impoverished and densely populated state in India. The Koshi embankment near the Indo-Nepal border (at Kusaha VDC, Sunsari District, Sunsari district, Nepal) ...
See also
*
Bhote Koshi Project
The Bhote Koshi Power Plant (also known as Upper Bhote Koshi Project) is a run-of-the-river power plant in Sindhulpalchok District, Nepal. It was constructed between 1997 and 2000 with power generation starting in January 2001. The project cost ab ...
*
Floods in Bihar
Bihar is India's most flood-prone state, with 76% of population in the North Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood devastation. Bihar makes up 16.5% of India's flood affected area and 22.1% of India's flood affected population. Abo ...
*
Indo-Nepalese relations
*
Koshi Barrage
*
Sapt Koshi
The Kosi or Koshi ( ne, कोशी, , hi, कोसी, ) is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence ...
External links
BBC News
{{Kosi basin
Dikes
Dams in Nepal
Dams in Bihar
1950s establishments in Bihar
Dams completed in the 1950s
Year of establishment missing
20th-century architecture in India