Fertile land lost forever in floods - Kosi changes course

Several hectares of land are still inundated

Madhepura, Jan. 5: Green no longer is the colour of the fields after last year’s floods caused by the Kosi.

Farmers in the flood-hit blocks of Kumarkhand, Murliganj, Shankerpur, Goalpara and Alamnagar in Madhepura district are surprised to find waterlogged fields even four months after the Kosi had breached embankment.

“Boats are plying on my paddy field till today,” said Lakshman Yadav of ward no. 8 at Kumarkhand whose 10 acres of fertile paddy fields disappeared. During the floods of 2007, water receded from the same fields hardly after 20 days and there was good production, recalled Lakshman.

“We have doubts whether the fields would come out or not even after next six months,” said Amol Yadav of Ramganj in Kumarkhand block. Yadav’s three bighas of paddy field were also gobbled up by the new course of the Kosi.

For Jitendar Yadav, Rajo Sha, Devenarayan Sah, Sudir Yadav and several others of ward no. 13 in Muriganj Nagar panchayat, life has turned more miserable with their sole source of income — paddy fields — being lost foerever.

Atish Chandra, the district magistrate, said that a survey was still going on to trace the loss of such cultivated lands in the district. He said that farmers would be given wheat seeds up to January 15 and after that maze seeds would be provided during a special drive.

“What will we do with such seeds when our fields were still missing?” asked Dayanand Yadav of Bindtoli Sahapur. Rajkishore Ram of Sarouni in Goalpara block helplessly echoed him.

The district administration does not have the figure of land losses after the floods. Even no one in the local agriculture department could tell the appropriate figure of loss of agricultural activities.

But according to the crisis management department, the floods have ruined over 155,877 lakh hectares in 11 blocks under 140 panchaytas were affected.

The crisis management department also said that over 119,270 hectares of cultivated lands disappeared from the map in the district and crops in over 58,400 hectares were damaged.