{"id":20049139,"date":"2020-10-26T12:30:09","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=40019"},"modified":"2021-04-15T22:43:06","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T17:13:06","slug":"kanwar-lake-bihar-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/kanwar-lake-bihar-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Caste tensions at depleted Kanwar lake ahead of Bihar elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The largest oxbow lake in Asia is dying. Kanwar lake, in the state of Bihar in eastern India, was formed thousands of years ago by the meandering of the Gandak river. Over the past 20 years the protected area and bird sanctuary has shrunk rapidly \u2013 but not because of climate change.

In 1984, Kanwar lake covered almost 6,786 hectares (ha), a study<\/a> led by Ashok Ghosh, a scientist and then chairman of the Bihar State Pollution Control Board, found. By 2004 it had shrunk<\/a> to 6,044 ha and 2,032 ha in 2012.

Mohammed Nawazuzzoha, a research scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, has carried out more recent analysis on the size of the lake, which is in the district of Begusarai. He told The Third Pole<\/a>, \u201cThe lake area decreased by 8.9% from 1998 to 2018. I have excluded the areas occupied by weeds, aquatic plants or agriculture and the final results show that the lake area is as low as 89 ha.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kanwar<\/div>
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Ghosh\u2019s research found that the wetland is diminishing due to mismanagement, encroachment and deliberate attempts to dry the lake. As the water has retreated, the land left behind has been occupied by agriculture, housing settlements and a brick factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conflicts at Kanwar lake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two groups have competing interests in Kanwar lake: the fishing community, or Sahnis, and the landlords, or Bhumihars. The Sahnis want to safeguard the lake as it is the source of their livelihood, while the Bhumihars want to use the land it covers for agriculture.

Nawazuzzoha said that his analysis of satellite imagery shows that agriculture in the wetland has increased by about 12% over the past 20 years. According to Ghosh, almost 60% of the lake\u2019s area is being used for agriculture. Today, much of it is covered by paddy fields, making the lake difficult to identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Paddy<\/div>
Much of Kanwar lake is now covered by plants [image by: Majid Alam]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Arvind Kumar Verma, the district magistrate, said there are no official figures on the exact number of people affected by the conflict, but Land Conflict Watch<\/a>, a project that maps and analyses land and resources conflicts in India, estimates that about 500 people are impacted.

A canal connecting the lake to the nearby Gandak river is at the centre of their struggle.
\u201cThe canal used to recharge the lake and was also used for transportation from the lake through the river,\u201d said Ghosh.

The Third Pole<\/a>\u2019s correspondent visited the area in October 2020 and May 2019, and observed that this inlet was blocked, with some areas completely filled in. Ghosh said the blockages appeared between 2002 and 2003. Both Ghosh and Nawazuzzoha said that structures had been built by landlords to intentionally choke the canal and dry up the lake.

A landlord who spoke to The Third Pole<\/a> on condition of anonymity said the channel \u201cdried due to the accumulation of sand in the way\u201d and that this was a \u201cnatural process\u201d.

Heavy monsoons in the past three years, especially in 2020<\/a>, have filled the lake: the fishermen told The Third Pole<\/a> that between August and November the lake swells with water. Both researchers said that the landlords now want to open the canal as they have realised that it is holding water in the lake and not allowing it to drain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/div>
Between August and November the lake fills up [image by: Majid Alam]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

See:<\/strong>Floods hit Bihar again after heavy early monsoon rain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the Jal Jeevan Hariyali programme<\/a> of the state government [an initiative to strengthen Bihar\u2019s environment], [the district administration is] planning to revive the connecting channel from the Kanwar lake to the Gandak river,\u201d said Verma. The landlords support this initiative.
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