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India to take up dam projects with Prachanda

NEW DELHI: With a sense of urgency, India will take up with Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) the issue of construction of the Saptakosi and Sunkosi dam projects in upstream Nepal to tame the Kosi in Bihar. He is arriving here on Sunday.

The multipurpose Saptakosi dam will substantially reduce the flooding in Kosi, which caused unprecedented havoc in Bihar this year.

Water Resources Secretary Umesh Narayan Panjiar told The Hindu here on Tuesday that the Indian government would request Nepal to help with logistics and security for preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) so that dam construction could be expedited.

In 2004, a Joint Project Office was set up at Viratnagar in Nepal for facilitating the preparation of the DPRs. “Recently, the Nepal government agreed to expedite the matter,” Mr. Panjiar said.

In the immediate term, work would start to plug the breach in the Kosi embankments that triggered floods in Bihar.

The Sanyal Committee constituted by the Bihar government, which also has representation of central engineers from the Ganga Flood Control Commission, would take up excavation of the silted channels on the western side of the river that had exerted pressure on the eastern bank. The work has been assigned to a private dredging company from Hyderabad.

Secondly, the engineers would close the breaches on the embankment on both sides of the river with sand bags, weighing two-four tonnes. In a bid to divert water flow from left to right, specially constructed cement, stone and steel “porcupines” would be erected to “induce siltation.”

According to the Secretary, the work would begin as soon as men and material are in place.

The devastating breach occurred because of water pressure on the afflux bund on the eastern bank of the Kosi. The Nepal government has given on lease to the Bihar government the afflux bunds and the Kosi barrage — on the border but within Nepal — for maintenance.

The State formed a Kosi High-Level Committee for monitoring the bunds and the barrage. It is financed by the Centre.

Normally, the Union Water Resources Ministry “reimburses” to the Bihar government all expenses incurred on maintenance of the Kosi embankments and barrage. The fund allocation is to the tune of Rs. 17 crore in five years.

This year, the State government claimed to have spent Rs. 80 lakh till June. After the devastating floods, it has sought Rs. 414 crore for plugging the breach and strengthening the embankments.

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