10 Villages On The Verge Of Submergence People Get Only Assurance

Mahananda river in eastern Bihar has put 10 villages on the risk of submergence. However, the local administration either seems ignorant with the issue or has only assurance for the aggrieved people. It has left 50,000 people on the mercy of God. Mohd Mustaquim reports.

- Mohd Mustaquim

Suffering was all written on his face. A river, which is supposed to be respected as a gift of nature, has brought distress, disgust and depression to thousands of villagers in Seemanchal in Bihar. Standing on the bank of river Mahananda, Alimuddin, 58, from the village Mathwatoli narrates menace of the river and thereby his plight. The river has made him a landless labourer, fighting hard for survival. Showing his submerging house, Moinuddin, 44, from Kashibari village, tells a similar tale. Over a period of time, Mahananda river, by changing its course in zigzag manner, has made lives in 10 villages miserable and they are finding it difficult to survive in the absence of any help coming from the government or local administration.

Thousands of villagers, like Alimuddin and Moinuddin, have changed the way they used to look at river Mahananda. The river now gives them sleepless nights.

Mahananda river, known as the ‘Sorrow of Seemanchal’ has put 10 villages in the Amour and Baisa blocks of Purnea district in Bihar, on the risk of submergence. However, the local administration either seems ignorant with the issue or has only assurance for the aggrieved people. Two villages, Kashibari and Hijli in the Baisa block have already lost their existence due to massive soil erosion by the river.