The Kosi
River gathers water from the high mountains in Nepal and enters India at
North Bihar and drains into the Ganga. The Kosi has been a legendarily
meandering river with an estimated 15 different courses in the past 300
years. Bunds and barrages or embankments were built to control its
course as much as possible. These barrages were designed to withstand a
peak of up to 950,000 cusecs. Regrettably it hasn’t been enough as
proven by the several breaches that keep happening intermittently. The
latest breach on August 18th has been the worst in over 60
years if not ever.
The chief
minister of the state calls it a catastrophe that is going to get worse.
The newspapers are calling it Bihar’s Katrina. Call it whatever, the
truth is that it has devastated hundreds of kilometers of Land, wrecking
the lives of more than two and a half million people by the fury of its
flow. The breach has made the Kosi shift 120kms to the east, thus
submerging three whole districts and affecting two others. Supaul,
Madhepura and Araria are the districts worst hit and wholly submerged by
the 13 km wide flowing ravaging current, estimated to spread 30 kms in
width.
People
evacuated so far number about a million, but about 3 Million more people
need to be evacuated to higher grounds. The efforts by the government
have been wholesomely inadequate in either providing adequate flood
relief or evacuation of the affected. The people in the affected regions
are mistaking the situation as just a possible topping of its embankment
by the Kosi and feel that, since water is going to recede soon, all they
need to do is occupy the heights. With more rains predicted in Nepal and
the upper catchment areas of the river, things are expected to get
worse.
The immediate
need is to achieve the evacuation of these 3 million people who continue
to stand amidst the raging waters expecting the river to change its
course back after spending its fury. The food situation is very bad too.
The 10000 food packets that are airdropped by the government each day is
grossly inadequate. The cost of a litre of milk has risen to Rs.150 from
its original cost of Rs. 14 and a biscuit packet that used to cost Rs.3
costs Rs.50 today.
GEMS has very
little presence in these three worst hit northern states of Bihar. There
is a field missionary of GEMS in Supaul, who has reported that he is ok.
There are several other Christian mission establishments in the worst
hit areas and we are trying to extend as much help as possible to them.
Let us earnestly intercede for this people.
Thank you for
the concern and care. May the Lord richly bless you.
For
further queries kindly e-mail to
gems@gemsbihar.org or call us
at +91 6184 234567
GEMS Family