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| Photo:India Today |
Report on the Flood Affected Areas
A team from the office of the Advisor to Supreme Court Commissioners (in Food Security case, 2001) visited the flood affected areas of Maner Block of Patna District on 16th August, 2013. The team found that the basic requirements such as medicines, food-grains, monetary support, means of transportation are not reaching the afflicted people of the villages namely, Hathi Tola, Munji Tola, Bhawani Tola of Kitachauhattar Madhya Panchayat, villages:- Chhihantar, Mahavir Tola, Dudhaila Tola of Kitachahuhattar Purvi Panchayat, villages:- Haldi Chhapra, Badar Tola, Nayaka Tola, Saat Ana of Kitachauhattar Pashchami Panchayat, villages:- Rampur, Prem Tola, Hulasi Tola of Rampur Diara Taufir Panchayat and other villages:- Islamganj, Suarmarwa, Magarpal and Ratna Tola.
We have received information from our local volunteer Ms. Bindu Devi that 30 villages of 3 Panchayats (Rahimpur Uttari, Rahimpur Dakshini and Rahimpur Madhya) of Khagaria Sadar Block are flooded with water from the Ganga river. Houses are in knee-deep water. It is also reported that some animals have swept away. So, distribution of fodder and grains and other necessities is urgently required.
The team of six members, three form the Advisor’s Office- Sanjay, Prabhakar, Ritwij and three local students, Pankaj, Deepak and Tulsi boarded a small boat and surveyed the flooded areas and also visited two villages- Isamganj and Hathi Tola. In the course of discussion with the villagers, it was found that they were living in miserable conditions due to shortage of grains, absence of basic requirements to support households and sources of livelihood. They informed the team that the flood, which happened one month back, was not so ferocious but the present flood, in the last two days, has flooded our houses. Though this is regular happening for more than a decade now but this year it has been more devastating.
Foolan Rai of Haldi Chhapra Village informed the team that he was agriculture labour and also worked at brick kiln, as the kiln was submerged in water he was out of job thus having no source of livelihood.
Hriday Rai of the same village, was a marginal farmer having two acres of land but his land is submerged underwater thus ruining his crops and forcing him into a bleak.
Shreepati Sahni and Rajesh Chaudhary of Islamganj are fishermen by profession but as the current of the rivers of Sone and Ganga was dangerously fast, it was not possible to go for fishing. At present, they are making their living by ferrying people at the rate of Rs. 5/- per head and in case a passenger carries a extra load up to 50 kg, they charge Rs. 100/- from submerged village to the town area.
Mithoon Chaudhary, Gupta Rai and Sitabi Devi (widow) of Badal Tola are daily wagers and have no work and are left to fend for themselves without any government support.
After a half an hour journey we reached Islamganj village and found a school- Deep Niketan at the outskirts established by a Christain Missionary was in knee-deep water and abandoned. It was a primary school. Villagers said that over 500 children study there. Another school- Rajkiye Prathmik Vidyalaya was also flooded. All houses were water logged. While interacting with some of the villagers, it was revealed that this was a Mahadalit village with also muslim population and each family has, on an average, 7-8 members. Average land holding per villager was 10 kathas- 1 bigha of land and most of them engage in share cropping. We saw that all the crop areas were submereged. Mintoo Sahni, a fihsreman of Islamganj village told the team that his village which is inhabited by more than one thousand poor fisherman and five hundred muslims is not being supplied with provisions, medicines and other basic requirement by the local government at this hour of distress.
A team from the office of the Advisor to Supreme Court Commissioners (in Food Security case, 2001) visited the flood affected areas of Maner Block of Patna District on 16th August, 2013. The team found that the basic requirements such as medicines, food-grains, monetary support, means of transportation are not reaching the afflicted people of the villages namely, Hathi Tola, Munji Tola, Bhawani Tola of Kitachauhattar Madhya Panchayat, villages:- Chhihantar, Mahavir Tola, Dudhaila Tola of Kitachahuhattar Purvi Panchayat, villages:- Haldi Chhapra, Badar Tola, Nayaka Tola, Saat Ana of Kitachauhattar Pashchami Panchayat, villages:- Rampur, Prem Tola, Hulasi Tola of Rampur Diara Taufir Panchayat and other villages:- Islamganj, Suarmarwa, Magarpal and Ratna Tola.
We have received information from our local volunteer Ms. Bindu Devi that 30 villages of 3 Panchayats (Rahimpur Uttari, Rahimpur Dakshini and Rahimpur Madhya) of Khagaria Sadar Block are flooded with water from the Ganga river. Houses are in knee-deep water. It is also reported that some animals have swept away. So, distribution of fodder and grains and other necessities is urgently required.
The team of six members, three form the Advisor’s Office- Sanjay, Prabhakar, Ritwij and three local students, Pankaj, Deepak and Tulsi boarded a small boat and surveyed the flooded areas and also visited two villages- Isamganj and Hathi Tola. In the course of discussion with the villagers, it was found that they were living in miserable conditions due to shortage of grains, absence of basic requirements to support households and sources of livelihood. They informed the team that the flood, which happened one month back, was not so ferocious but the present flood, in the last two days, has flooded our houses. Though this is regular happening for more than a decade now but this year it has been more devastating.
Foolan Rai of Haldi Chhapra Village informed the team that he was agriculture labour and also worked at brick kiln, as the kiln was submerged in water he was out of job thus having no source of livelihood.
Hriday Rai of the same village, was a marginal farmer having two acres of land but his land is submerged underwater thus ruining his crops and forcing him into a bleak.
Shreepati Sahni and Rajesh Chaudhary of Islamganj are fishermen by profession but as the current of the rivers of Sone and Ganga was dangerously fast, it was not possible to go for fishing. At present, they are making their living by ferrying people at the rate of Rs. 5/- per head and in case a passenger carries a extra load up to 50 kg, they charge Rs. 100/- from submerged village to the town area.
Mithoon Chaudhary, Gupta Rai and Sitabi Devi (widow) of Badal Tola are daily wagers and have no work and are left to fend for themselves without any government support.
After a half an hour journey we reached Islamganj village and found a school- Deep Niketan at the outskirts established by a Christain Missionary was in knee-deep water and abandoned. It was a primary school. Villagers said that over 500 children study there. Another school- Rajkiye Prathmik Vidyalaya was also flooded. All houses were water logged. While interacting with some of the villagers, it was revealed that this was a Mahadalit village with also muslim population and each family has, on an average, 7-8 members. Average land holding per villager was 10 kathas- 1 bigha of land and most of them engage in share cropping. We saw that all the crop areas were submereged. Mintoo Sahni, a fihsreman of Islamganj village told the team that his village which is inhabited by more than one thousand poor fisherman and five hundred muslims is not being supplied with provisions, medicines and other basic requirement by the local government at this hour of distress.
Raju Chaudhary, aged 55, gave us some startling revelations. He said that he was engaged by the local administration to ferry people from 5th Aug to 11th Aug, for which he was paid Rs. 1500/-. Three years back he had taken out five bodies which were drowned in a nearby village for which he was recently paid Rs. 175 per body. He also said that 13 boats were taken by the government form his village during Kosi flood. However, not a single owner has received any payment and any compensation and their boats have also been not returned to them. He gave the list of the persons whose boats have not been returned. They are as follows:- 1.) Raju Chaudhary, 2.) Kisun Chaudhary, 3.) Laxmi Chaudhary, 4.) Ram Dayal Chaudhary, 5.) Ram Babu Chaudhary, 6.) Radha Chaudhary, 7.) Ashok Chaudhary, 8.) Jairam Chaudhary, 9.) Sudar Chaudhary, 10.) Sitaram Chaudhary, 11.) Ram Babu Chaudhary.
He informed the team that he along with the above persons ran form pillar to post to retrieve their boats. They went to Pratapganj in Supaul districts, where they stayed for five days without any support from local administration for food etc. and the local people also instilled fear in them that this area was a very notorious place and they could even get killed. So, they came back to their home. Raju Chaudhary has one bigha of land with sown rice paddy but it was underwater. Then we met Mahendra Chaudhary and Vishwanath Sahni. Asked about the deliveries of PDS and Anganwadi, they said that they get ration once in three months which consists of 20 kg of grains-10kg rice and 10kg wheat for Rs. 150/-. They also complained against the dealer Rudal Rai who lives in Munji Tola and there is no Fair Price Shop in this village.
They also informed that some of the villagers had job cards under MGNREGA but no job was given to them. Two Anganwadis function in the village but now both of them were closed. In the same village we were introduced to a differently-abled person Maharaj Chaudhary, aged 80, has no social security schemes in his name.
On our way to Islamganj we met people of Hathi Tola who were on boat, leaving for town area to buy essential provisions and they had the same heart-rending story to tell. When asked about the population composition and land structure the villagers informed that the village had mixed population of - Yadavs, Lohar, Thakur, Paswan, Ravidas etc.
Siddth Nath Singh, Krishna Singh, Jagganath Mahto, Mosmat Basmatiya Devi, Sita Devi, Khedu Rai, all said that their crops ranging from corn, pigeon pea and paddy, are destroyed over one thousand acre of land of the village. They have lost from 10 kathas to 1 acre of crops.
All the villagers said that DM, civil SDO and local MLA had surveyed the area 10 days ago and promised to do the needful for ameliorating their condition. However, not even a boat for transportation has been provided, let alone grains and other necessities.
Around 2:30 p.m. we reached the shore and headed for the meeting with BDO at block office. At 3 p.m., we reached the BDO office and asked about the administrative response and measures to which she replied that she was not in-charge of flood relief operations. She suggested us to contact the Circle Officer (CO), but the CO was on leave. We were given the contact number of CO. When contacted on phone she said that she had already surveyed the area and her staff is keeping a close eye on the developing situation. She clarified that apart from arranging some boats for the villagers no relief material has been distributed. However, stocks of chura, jaggery and rice are being kept to meet any eventualities in future. When enquired about the low amount of Rs. 1500/- being paid to the boatmen for ferrying people she said that this amount is just an advance and Rs. 410/- is fixed for per day. She also informed that the survey of damaged crops will be undertaken within a fortnight. We also met the CDPO, when asked about the non distribution of THR she said that she would take any step after consulting DPO. As we talked to DPO on phone he said that he would do as per requirement in this regard.
A report on the Drought affected areas
As per the information received by us form sources from the ground, the districts of Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, Patna, Arwal, Jamui, Nawada, Banka, Kaimur, Arrah and Sasaram are severely affected by drought.
According to the representative of the Member of Parliament of Aurangabad, Mr. Ashwini Singh, the blocks of Madanpur, Kutumbba, Goh, Dev, Rafiganj are in the grip of drought. He said that only 20 % of sowing of paddy has been completed. Therefore, it is likely that shortage of grains may happen in near future. Though the last two days has witnessed some rains but it is insignificant for the purpose of sowing and will not at all better the situation.
In the district of Gaya, sowing has been only around 15%-20%. The blocks of Atri, Mohanpur, Barachatti, Gurua, Tekari and Imamganj bearing the brunt of the severe water crisis. The fields of some affluent farmers are being irrigated by their personal tube-wells. The blocks mentioned above are under a constant threat of facing multiple problems relating to starvation, fodder insecurity, joblessness and lack of proper drinking water et all.
Jehanabad district, only the rich farmers have been able to do some paddy sowing with the use of their personal tube-wells. The fields of marginal and small farmers have been devoid of any sowing. Water sources such as, pond, pyene, wells, boring etc are depleting. So it is the need of the hour to arrest the situation as early as possible.
Sowing has been done only in the some areas of Arwal and Patna districts connected with Sone Canal. In other areas the drought situation is grim in the absence of any government intervention which is the need of the hour.
Large parts of the districts of Jamui and Nawada has been reeling under drought, with sowing percentage being very low. The districts have faced economic backwardness historically and the present situation of drought, if kept unchecked will further cause the districts to slip in starvation, joblessness and other socio-economic problems.
RECOMMENDATIONS
He informed the team that he along with the above persons ran form pillar to post to retrieve their boats. They went to Pratapganj in Supaul districts, where they stayed for five days without any support from local administration for food etc. and the local people also instilled fear in them that this area was a very notorious place and they could even get killed. So, they came back to their home. Raju Chaudhary has one bigha of land with sown rice paddy but it was underwater. Then we met Mahendra Chaudhary and Vishwanath Sahni. Asked about the deliveries of PDS and Anganwadi, they said that they get ration once in three months which consists of 20 kg of grains-10kg rice and 10kg wheat for Rs. 150/-. They also complained against the dealer Rudal Rai who lives in Munji Tola and there is no Fair Price Shop in this village.
They also informed that some of the villagers had job cards under MGNREGA but no job was given to them. Two Anganwadis function in the village but now both of them were closed. In the same village we were introduced to a differently-abled person Maharaj Chaudhary, aged 80, has no social security schemes in his name.
On our way to Islamganj we met people of Hathi Tola who were on boat, leaving for town area to buy essential provisions and they had the same heart-rending story to tell. When asked about the population composition and land structure the villagers informed that the village had mixed population of - Yadavs, Lohar, Thakur, Paswan, Ravidas etc.
Siddth Nath Singh, Krishna Singh, Jagganath Mahto, Mosmat Basmatiya Devi, Sita Devi, Khedu Rai, all said that their crops ranging from corn, pigeon pea and paddy, are destroyed over one thousand acre of land of the village. They have lost from 10 kathas to 1 acre of crops.
All the villagers said that DM, civil SDO and local MLA had surveyed the area 10 days ago and promised to do the needful for ameliorating their condition. However, not even a boat for transportation has been provided, let alone grains and other necessities.
Around 2:30 p.m. we reached the shore and headed for the meeting with BDO at block office. At 3 p.m., we reached the BDO office and asked about the administrative response and measures to which she replied that she was not in-charge of flood relief operations. She suggested us to contact the Circle Officer (CO), but the CO was on leave. We were given the contact number of CO. When contacted on phone she said that she had already surveyed the area and her staff is keeping a close eye on the developing situation. She clarified that apart from arranging some boats for the villagers no relief material has been distributed. However, stocks of chura, jaggery and rice are being kept to meet any eventualities in future. When enquired about the low amount of Rs. 1500/- being paid to the boatmen for ferrying people she said that this amount is just an advance and Rs. 410/- is fixed for per day. She also informed that the survey of damaged crops will be undertaken within a fortnight. We also met the CDPO, when asked about the non distribution of THR she said that she would take any step after consulting DPO. As we talked to DPO on phone he said that he would do as per requirement in this regard.
A report on the Drought affected areas
As per the information received by us form sources from the ground, the districts of Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, Patna, Arwal, Jamui, Nawada, Banka, Kaimur, Arrah and Sasaram are severely affected by drought.
According to the representative of the Member of Parliament of Aurangabad, Mr. Ashwini Singh, the blocks of Madanpur, Kutumbba, Goh, Dev, Rafiganj are in the grip of drought. He said that only 20 % of sowing of paddy has been completed. Therefore, it is likely that shortage of grains may happen in near future. Though the last two days has witnessed some rains but it is insignificant for the purpose of sowing and will not at all better the situation.
In the district of Gaya, sowing has been only around 15%-20%. The blocks of Atri, Mohanpur, Barachatti, Gurua, Tekari and Imamganj bearing the brunt of the severe water crisis. The fields of some affluent farmers are being irrigated by their personal tube-wells. The blocks mentioned above are under a constant threat of facing multiple problems relating to starvation, fodder insecurity, joblessness and lack of proper drinking water et all.
Jehanabad district, only the rich farmers have been able to do some paddy sowing with the use of their personal tube-wells. The fields of marginal and small farmers have been devoid of any sowing. Water sources such as, pond, pyene, wells, boring etc are depleting. So it is the need of the hour to arrest the situation as early as possible.
Sowing has been done only in the some areas of Arwal and Patna districts connected with Sone Canal. In other areas the drought situation is grim in the absence of any government intervention which is the need of the hour.
Large parts of the districts of Jamui and Nawada has been reeling under drought, with sowing percentage being very low. The districts have faced economic backwardness historically and the present situation of drought, if kept unchecked will further cause the districts to slip in starvation, joblessness and other socio-economic problems.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- On the basis of our findings, we recommend the following suggestions, which are as follows:
- Make the availability of boats in the food affected areas.
- Provide food-grains, oil, pulses and other such necessities at nominal price.
- Provide basic health facilities such as medicines etc through mobile medical check-up system.
- Ensure the distribution of Take Home Ration (THR) in AWC and free meal.
- Ensure free distribution of fodder for cattle at appropriate place in affected areas.
- Make survey of cropped fields submerged in water and drought affected areas as early as possible.
- Ensure proper functioning of Public Distribution System (PDS) and Ann Kalash Yojana in drought as well as flood affected areas.
- Ensure the distribution of relief material and monetary support amongst the marginalized, vulnerable, minorities, women, children, old age people and disabled people.
- Ensure safe drinking water through tankers and make sure that the poorest sections of the society have access to it.
- Take steps to maintain proper law and order through deployment of police personals.
We hope that the government will undertake effective measures to prevent any untoward happenings in the drought and flood affected parts of Bihar.
