There is Water in the Eyes of Bihar

Bihar was recently hit by a force majeure. For those who haven’t heard the term before, it refers to a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events, an act of God, a vis major. There was devastation, there was mayhem, dreams were shattered and lives were lost. The agent of the destruction was water, the life sustaining liquid and the universal solvent which caused many humans and their hopes to go into solution. It was a flood. A literal flood. And now, the eyes of those affected respond to the external stimulus.

Bihar has been battling with floods for about a month now. The ‘Sorrow of Bihar’, the river Kosi, which flows into India from Nepal, broke through an embankment changing its path and flowing on a course that it had 100 years ago. This caused the release of a large amount of water into the proximate villages. And because humans are not gifted with gills, this forced two million people to abandon their homes in six districts, where they were unprepared for such a disaster. The people who’ve lost their homes can’t expect to move back for two or three months or even more. Changing the natural course of a river takes time. Doesn’t it?

When the floods hit Bihar, the people swam through the torrents to seek survival, leaving their entire properties behind. Consequentially, hunger has become a tough challenge for the victims. Besides, people have incurred crop losses worth millions which implies that the struggle for food will remain even after flood waters recede. Besides, there has been a heavy loss of lives. According to rediff news, the death toll had reached 76 on the 30th of August. The living conditions of those who survived aren’t good either. They are falling prey to diseases. The possibility of an outbreak of epidemic can’t be ruled out either. Besides thousands of people are missing.

The whole of Bihar is affected by the floods in one way or another. The worst affected districts are Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Araria and Katihar. The Government of Bihar has taken and is still taking steps to provide rehabilitation and support to those victimised. Various NGOs are also monitoring the situation closely and are chipping in with significant contributions, but we must realise that it is not easy to recover from a calamity of this magnitude. According to New York Times, it is the worst flood in the area in 50 years. Due to the extent of the devastation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared the floods as a national calamity. We must understand the gravity of the tragedy.

What is done can’t be undone. Being humans, we can only help those affected recover from the plight. And if all of us stand together and help those affected stand, the effort will be worth being called human. And it is not to be viewed as an obligation but as our responsibility to our fellows. After all, we belong the same species: we all are homo sapiens.