By Manzar Imam,
Land erosion caused by swelling of Mahananda and Kankai rivers in Kishanganj and Purnea districts of Bihar is causing heavy losses. Hundreds of villages are drowned, thousands of houses swept away with water and crops worth crores of rupees damaged, leading to chaos in this flood-prone Seemanchal region of northeastern Bihar. In order to save their life, people are shifting to other places leaving behind their home and hearth. Two times meal and shelter have become the most urgent need for them.
A few months ago, there was heavy thunderstorm/cyclone that had left more than hundred people dead and caused huge loss of properties. People were yet to come out of the dreadful loss, when erosion of land due to unruly water has brought them on the verge of a near complete destruction. It has also confronted them with umpteen challenges. The erosion refuses to subside. Dozens of houses in Chakchaki village of Kochadhaman panchayat have been swept away with Mahananda river. The loss of property is even greater.
Kishanganj MP and President of All India Talimi Wa Milli Foundation, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi is distributing clothes among flood victims in Kishanganj
According to official sources, the number of houses drowned in water in various panchayats of Purnea district is as followed: 84 in Talbari panchayat, 50 in Gendu pancyayat, 49 in Rangraiyya Lal Toli panchayat and 40 in Khari Main Gaon panchayat.
Two years ago, there was great destruction in several districts of Seemanchal region due to breakage of dam of Kosi river and some rivers of Nepal. People were yet to come out of the immeasurable loss, when this sudden flood has rendered thousands of them homeless, Maulana Saud Alam Nadwi, convener of the Relief Committee of All India Talimi Wa Milli Foundation said.
People suffer every year from such damage because when rivers swell in rainy season, water fills the surrounding villages. Therefore, as the rainy season comes close, people start worrying how they would spend the next four months, secretary of Milli Foundation, Maulana Nausher Ahmad said. The state government keeps silent every year, he wondered. He demanded the government to take some concrete step to stop the damage. He further said that the government should work in the region on priority basis. There is an urgent need to build bridges at some places, he added.
It should be noted that the erosion of land has become an annual phenomenon causing huge loss every year. The situation has completely broken the people and worsened their lives. As happens with natural calamities, women, children and widows – all have been suffering from it. As the month of Ramadhan is coming close, there is great anxiety among people as to how they would fulfill the obligations of the sacred month, Maulana Nadwi said.
Under the supervision of Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi, Lok Sabha MP from Kishanganj, a team of Milli Foundation has been distributing relief among the affected people, said Maulana Nizamuddin Qasmi, treasurer of All India Talimi Wa Milli Foundation. Besides sari, lungi, kurta and vest 10 kg of rice, 3 kg of gram, 2 kg pulse and sugar each, tea and oil and a cash amount of 300 rupees were distributed per family. Poor and widows were given preference in the relief, Maulana Nizamuddin said. The blocks selected for relief include Amour, Baisi and Dagarua in Purnea and Thakurganj, Bahadurganj, Dighalbank and Kochadhaman in Kishanganj.
Member of Parliament from Kishanganj constituency and President of All India Talimi Wa Milli Foundation, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi went for an emergency visit of the area and apprised the District authorities of the situations and asked them to be ready for any assistance.
It should be noted that a huge fund is required to provide assistance to people affected by the heavy loss. This is impossible to be done by any one organisation. The Foundation has therefore appealed to the philanthropists and affluent people and welfare organizations to come forward to relief and rescue of the affected masses.
(The writer is a Delhi-based journalist, can be reached at [email protected])