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Ganga flows through Bihar to oblivion

Soroor Ahmed in Patna

When Sachchidanand Jha's maternal uncle died, he and his relatives had to go across to Ganga's northern bank to take a post-cremation dip.

Why the northern bank, you ask. The reason is simple: there is hardly any water left on the south side.

What today flows along Bihar's capital, Patna, in the non-monsoon months is a narrow, shallow stream of dirty water fit for anything but drinking and bathing. Even during Chhath and other religious festivals, people prefer to go to other side of the Ganga. In fact, such is the mad rush that a major boat disaster occurred a few years ago.

The drying up of Ganga is attributed to the disproportionate use of waters by the upper riparian states, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, the storage of water from its tributaries by Nepal, and the 1996 Ganga Waters Agreement with Bangladesh.

Not only Patna, all the other towns along its southern bank are facing severe drinking and irrigation water shortage. In the historic town of Munger, for instance, the Ganga virtually ceases to exist during the summer. Even in Patna, one can find several islands emerging in the middle of the river.

State Water Resources Minister Jagdanand Singh, officials and experts on river water are all unanimous that Bihar has over the years been cheated in the distribution of water. If the trend continues for another four decades, they calculate, Ganga would literally cease to exist in the state, save during the monsoons.

The Ganga in Patna is, these experts point out, almost as bad as the Yamuna is in Delhi. Not so contaminated, may be, but quite close. The fall in the waterline started decades ago. The Ganga Waters Agreement of December 1996 drove the proverbial last nail in the coffin. Under the agreement, water from the Farakka barrage situated almost on the Bihar-West Bengal border is to be released for Bangladesh and the Haldia port during the lean season. The waters so released are not only of the already dry Ganga but also of its North Bihar tributaries such as Kosi, Budhi Gandak, Mahananda.

The four barrages over Ganga in UP, and the several others on its tributaries (such as Yamuna) in Haryana and Rajasthan, have reduced the flow of water in dry months. The barrages in UP are situated in Hardwar, Narora, Tehri and Kanpur. The last was constructed only a few years ago, despite protests from Bihar.

The Ganga, which bisects Bihar, has political, social and economic importance. It is rather ironic that the state has to face such a situation, despite being the most flood-prone state in the country. About 76 per cent of the North Bihar population live in easily flooded areas. And this, because there is no proper water storage facilities in the other parts of the state. Almost all the rivers, be it of North or South Bihar, submerge in the Ganga.

There are two types of rivers in the state. The first are the snow-fed ones, which after originating from the Himalayas in Nepal, hasten downward to the North Bihar plains to meet Ganga. These, especially Kosi (which means curse), Kamla-Balan, Gandak and Budhi Gandak wreak havoc during monsoon every year.

Secondly, there are dozens of rain-fed rivers which, after rising in the hills of Chotanagpur in South Bihar or even south-eastern Madhya Pradesh, criss-cross the Central Bihar plains to fall into Ganga. These remain without water for most of the time. That is the reason why the Central Bihar always remains drought-prone.

Almost 2 million of the total 4.7 million hectares of land in Central Bihar have no irrigation facilities. Thus, the towns and villages situated on the southern bank of Ganga have been more hit by the fall in Ganga waters. Old timers say that the river is at its narrowest in the last 50 years.

The snow-fed North Bihar rivers may not have become water-starved had the Central government paid proper attention. During the lean season, Nepal does not allow much water into Bihar, as it need to store for own use. And whatever water comes down from Nepal, Bangladesh or Hadia port claim it.

And in monsoon, in total contrast, there is always the fear that Nepal would release extra waters and causing massive flood in North Bihar.

The problem, thus, is that the Union government, while negotiating with the neighbouring country, never took into account the cause of Bihar. The December 1996 agreement with Bangladesh was signed when H D Deve Gowda was prime minister and I K Gujral the foreign minister. Bihar's Water Resources Minister Jagdananad Singh, himself an engineer, had lodged a strong protest over the agreement, but nobody bothered to listen.

To further the cause of Bihar, it was planned that the MPs from the state would call on the President. But except for a handful of parliamentarians none took much interest. While in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, politicians cutting across party lines was taking a united stand on the Cauvery issue, in Bihar the issue fell a victim to politics.

An ardent spokesman for Bihar's cause and a former MLA, Badri Singh wants the state to move the Supreme Court about the issue. He demands an immediate ban on the 'disproportionate' use of the Ganga waters by upper riparian states.

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