The Curse Turned Blessing

Bihar comes up with a first-of-its-kind project to tap into and supply Ganga's floodwater from its northern districts to the parched southern regions

- AMITABH SRIVASTAVA

Every monsoon, Bihar finds itself in a peculiar quandary. Just when the state's northern districts are grappling with floods due to the overflowing Himalayan rivers that drain into the mighty Ganga, affecting more than two million families year after year, about 20 districts in the south found themselves trapped in a drought-like situation. The reasons for water deficiency are aplenty: smaller feeding rivers in the south, except the Son; rocky or sandy soil; and irregular rains, to list a few.

One morning in late 2018, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, an engineer-turned-politician, was discussing the issue with a select group of bureaucrats and politicians, when he came up with an idea. How about engineering a system that could treat and transport floodwater from the state's northern plains to its drought-prone areas in the south?

But when the water resources department started its research to turn the CM's idea into a practicable solution, there was not a single precedent to be found across India. Then, in June 2019, Nitish expanded his cabinet, assigning the water resources portfolio to his close confidant Sanjay Jha. Subsequently, an agreement was stitched up with Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) to take the project to fruition.

HAPPINESS MANTRA

"The Ganga water that has reached your households can be used for drinking, bathing, cooking... It will also help in irrigation by raising the water table"

NITISH KUMAR

Chief Minister, Bihar, while launching the project