About this article<\/p>
This is the first story in a three-part series on flooding in the Kosi-Ganga-Padma river basin across three countries, Nepal, India and Bangladesh.<\/span><\/p> Read\u00a0Part 2<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Part 3<\/a>\u00a0here.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Manoj Basnet, a resident of Thakurbari \u2013 a riverside neighbourhood in Barahakshetra \u2013 filled nylon bags with sand and placed them on the edge of the river at the end of July, as he spoke with The Third Pole<\/a>. \u201cThe Koshi\u2019s water level has increased in the past two weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes, it feels we will be washed away at midnight, while we sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually a gathering of people along the bank of the Koshi river in eastern Nepal would signal a death. The group would be preparing for the Hindu tradition of cremating their deceased on the holy riverbank. In the monsoon, though, the people of Barahakshetra municipality in the district of Sunsari, gather to shore up the embankments and save themselves from the floods. There is no expectation of help from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manoj Basnet, a resident of Thakurbari \u2013 a riverside neighbourhood in Barahakshetra \u2013 filled nylon bags with sand and placed them on the edge of the river at the end of July, as he spoke with The Third Pole<\/a>. \u201cThe Koshi\u2019s water level has increased in the past two weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes, it feels we will be washed away at midnight, while we sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not only the strength of the currents in Nepal’s biggest river and past records of sedimentation and erosion<\/a> that make Basnet feel helpless, but also his lack of access to flood-prevention measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the Koshi Agreement<\/a>, signed between the governments of Nepal and India in 1954, the Indian state of Bihar is responsible for preventing floods in the area affected by the Koshi Project, roughly 150 kilometres of embankments built along the river in India and Nepal to prevent floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the June-September monsoon every year, the Bihar government sends officials to Nepal to install \u201ccement porcupines<\/a>\u201d \u2013 concrete poles joined with nuts and bolts \u2013 and pile up nylon sandbags on the riverbank to slow down the flow of the water. However, by and large, it has failed to inspire local trust because Indian engineers do not consult them or their representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nepali officials claim this has resulted in short-sighted solutions, and means the task has to be repeated almost every monsoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A \u201cliaison-cum-land acquisition officer\u201d for the Koshi Project in Nepal is responsible for coordinating with the government of Bihar\u2019s representatives on barrage management. However, Santosh Kumar Chongwang, who currently fills this position, said he has not been told about any initiatives Bihar takes up in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Indian side started works to reduce erosion in Barahakshetra on July 19 this year,\u201d Chongwang said. \u201cBut they did not inform us. Though we are the official channel of communication, the Indian side snubbed us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nilam Khanal, the mayor of Barahakshetra municipality, said, \u201cWhen the Indian side erected cement porcupines, they did not consult us.\u201d He said local representatives should be consulted, as they are more aware of what is needed in the area. \u201cSometimes, the porcupines erected on one side cause erosion on the other side of the river,\u201d Khanal added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khanal said that he has repeatedly informed federal and provincial ministers in Nepal about the issue, but no effort has been made to change the situation. \u201cThe Indians lead the entire process. They have control over all decisions. Of course, Nepalis have participated, but only as sub-contractors and labourers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added, \u201cAs per the [Koshi] Agreement, the Nepali side should also have some say in policy and decision making. Though the executive leadership belongs to India, they should coordinate with concerned Nepali officials. But it has not happened in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The annual embankment repair works were hit by lockdowns in both India and Nepal, forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indian officials have repeatedly complained that they were not allowed to enter Nepal \u201con time\u201d to carry out the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Cement](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Nepal_Floods_2020_Koshi_2-1.jpg\")
<\/div>Nepalis in the dark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Indians lead the entire process. They have control over all decisions. Of course, Nepalis have participated, but only as sub-contractors and labourers.<\/blockquote>Santosh Kumar Chongwang<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Indian officials have their own complaints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n