Preparing for Kosi flooding: BJP, Bihar have come a long way from 2008

Addressing the Constituent Assembly of Nepal, Narendra Modi emphasised his concern over the potential Kosi flood threat, adding that his “entire government” was working overtime to ensure that consequent losses are minimised. Around the same time Law and Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference in New Delhi to make a detailed briefing about the steps the union government was taking to provide assistance to the Bihar government and the people who could be potentially affected, as well what measures were being taken to coordinate with Nepali officials. The extent of preparedness announced by the centre is impressive and shows commendable alertness on the part of the Modi government. This incident is the first major disaster management challenge for it, and is also testing inter-ministerial and centre-state coordination mechanisms. While the overflowing Kosi waters are yet to hit parts of Bihar, the government response, level of preparedness and communication with the people is in marked contrast to 2008, when on 18 August an embankment in Nepal was breached and the river changed course, causing devastation in Bihar. The officials had known in 2008 that the embankment was eroded and severely weakened but poor communication between Nepal and Indian authorities meant that the disaster was not averted. A fax by junior Bihar irrigation department officials to the Bihar water resource ministry went unheeded, even unnoticed. The centre and the state seem to have both learned their lessons since then. [caption id=“attachment_1647859” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI[/caption] There is also an interesting political angle to the present crisis, as opposed to 2008. It concerns Bihar and current JD(U) led dispensation in the state. The Modi government is keen to send a message that a leadership change will make a difference in the state, as the BJP genuinely care about the welfare and safety of the people. A senior Bihar government official, who was closely associated with disaster management work in 2008 and is observing the current preparedness from close quarters told Firstpost, requesting anonymity, that “there can not be any comparison between what happened then and what is happening now". “In 2008, it took five days for a senior official to visit flood affected areas from Patna. This time the mere threat of a flood has prompted the Cabinet Secretary to hold a video conference with the state chief secretary. The centre has also announced many measures. Their teams are here, NDRF (National Disaster Management Force) is here, army is on stand by and so on. The Bihar government is also working with definite alertness and people too are responding to the warnings. In 2008, the Fax messages sent from Birpur by officials went unattended for days, causing great human tragedy. Now nobody is talking about Fax messages”, he said. Another official said “there are other things that have changed but that relates to politics, so it is not worthwhile for me to comment.” The Nitish-Modi relationship in particular had reached a point of no-return in the aftermath of the 2008 Kosi flooding. Enthusiastic BJP workers in the state went out of their way to publicise the fact that the Gujarat government had made a contribution of Rs 5 crore to the flood ravaged district. It all culminated to a point in June 2010 when Nitish Kumar returned the cheque, apparently lying unspent in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, to the Gujarat Government. Modi is now Prime Minister. A humbled Nitish Kumar has resigned but is running a Jitan Ram Manjhi puppet government. Modi is incidentally in Nepal on a two-day visit, On how the Bihar government was responding to the centre, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told media persons that, “whatever be the attitude of the state, we will extend all possible help, past ko bhulte hue yeh kaam kiya jayega.” Home Minister Rajnath Singh, whose ministry is the nodal authority on disaster management, called up Bihar chief minister Jitan Manjhi assuring him of “full central assistance in evacuation and relief work”. An official well conversant with the developing situation said that, in all likelihood, if floods do take place, the effects would be much less than initially anticipated. He had various reasons to offer, all based on current assessment and distance. The place from where the water is supposed to discharged is located north of Kathmandu and around 260 km from the Bihar-Nepal border. The water spread in Nepal will lesson the ferocity till it reaches India’s borders and give officials time to make preparatory arrangements. He, however, added that “it was good that administration was over prepared. It should thus be capable to deal with any eventuality. In 2008 it took 4-6 days to evacuate people from the affected areas, this time it has taken just a day. The process continues.” The officials have also taken lessons from the Uttarakhand tragedy where heavy rains had created an artificial dam on the top of the mountains, eventually causing a landslide. A similar situation has occurred in Nepal, where an artificial dam has been created on one of the tributaries of the Kosi river. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth has chaired three emergency meetings of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) since Saturday. A total of 44,000 persons have been evacuated, 107 camps and 30 cattle camps have been set up. A team of six senior central officials reached Nepal on Saturday night to make an initial assessment. The central Water Commission is doing a computer simulation exercise to assess the likely impact of a sudden release of water and has concluded that water discharge so far is not alarming. Eight NDRF teams have been already deployed and seven more teams are to be deployed. Another five are on standby. Some Indian army columns are on the spot and are also on stand by. One AN-32 Indian Air force aircraft has reached Delhi from Agra to carry personnel and communication equipment to Purnia. One more is on standby at Agra, two Mi-17 helicopters each are at Gorakhpur, Bagdogra and Barrackpore, two Chetaks and 4 MI-17 also moved to Bihta (near Patna), Naval diving teams in readiness. Medical assistance, advanced communication equipments including 15 satellite phones and tonnes of foodgrains have been moved for assistance. Impressive figures, but its worth is yet to be tested.