Articles by Dinesh Kumar Mishra

The idea of a national interlinking of rivers needs to base itself on the past six decades' experience of river and fl ood control measures. A contribution from Bihar shows that not only is the state's "surplus water" tag a bit incorrect, the very structures - dams, canals and embankments - which are proposed to implement the river interlinking project have been a big failure. Then what explains the enthusiasm for this failed idea?

The overflowing Kosi had, as of end-August, wreaked destruction on more than three million people living in north and east Bihar. A field visit reports on the misery of the affected, haphazard rescue efforts and criminal exploitation of the uprooted. The immediate task is to improve relief operations and then provide support to the displaced who will not be able to find work until the 2009 kharif season. A blame game is now in operation, but since the early 1960s whichever the party in power, the people of Bihar have been affected by official apathy towards the embankments on the Kosi. This time it is a clear case of dereliction of duty by the state government in repairing upstream barrages before the monsoon of 2008 that has resulted in devastation.