Koshi Dai is a River of Mithila- let Maithils decide their destiny on Koshi kasi/ Koshi kushi or Koshi Khushi or khudkushi (suicide) in future

30.8.2008 Koshi Dai is a River of Mithila- let Maithils decide their destiny on Koshi kasi/ Koshi kushi or Koshi Khushi or khudkushi (suicide) anytime in future!

On my sister’s mobile today a call was from 06455 i.e. of Forbesganj, my birthplace and hometown. It was of Prof. N.L.Das, VP, AMP who had some minutes back AMP President, Dr. Bhubaneshwar Prasad Gurumaita with him. Dr. Das informed that though Forbesganj was safe till then from the flood waters they were serving the flood victims in the vicinity. The fund is puring now but I cautioned that ‘flood scam’ was again imminent.
Though PM’s package seemed lucrative it will be Rs. 1000000000/2000000 people = Rs.500 per head and as Rajiv Gandhi had said only 7 paise a rupee reaches to the intended and so Rs.35 per head only will be the output and one may add some other international and national NGOs . Voluntary organisations’ contribution. So some Rs. 40 per head.
Rightly the ‘flood Yogi’ rather ‘ Koshi flood Yogi,’ Dinesh K. Mishra’s yesterday told me from Barh( of magadh, present Patna where in olden days might flood coming not in Mithila where rivers were suffixed Mai, e.g. Koshi Mai, Kamla Mai because it was never havoc rather it brought fertile clay and Mithila was one of the happiest region, the wealthiest region of the Aryavart(north of Vindhyas, south of Himalayas).
Dineshji was returning from Arariya, Supaul area and told me that though the 1987 flood(when I had worked at Katihar district for relief with a team of CCL- NMO) was the most devastating the 2008 Kushha breach was the most forceful as it was encalsulated in form.
Dineshji’s book, “Trapped between devil and deep water: The story of Bihar’s Koshi River,” will be released on Sunday 7th September, 4 PM at the India International Centre Annexae, New Delhi where I would have loved to present(even now there is a possibility to go) for making the issue of flood at a ripe time though I know as remarked by Ram manohar of Nepal in the mail below sent me two days back and in the same tone said by Engineer Braj Kishor Jha from NOIDA (who was a neighbour me for long and had spoken with OHP presentation on the Flood management in Mithila on 19.6.1993 in the First International Maithili Conference at Ranchi where my idea was formulated as the AMP as an organization) that, “IT IS A MATTER OF THE PEOPLE OF CONCERNED AREA OF MITHILA ON BOTH SIDES OF INTERNATIONAL BORDER AND THEY ARE TO BE ASKED THEIR VIEW BUT ARE NOWHERE IN THE PICTURE.”

Yes, my friend Dinesh’s book’s title would have been , Koshi :a River of Mithila. Bihar , rest of India and rest of Nepal can have sympathy for us but that is like that of a neighbour, rightly remarked BK Jha who this morning called me on phone to see damage from west side(Nirmali where we had participated in a mammoth convention on flood convened by Dineshji in 1995 probably.
Maybe I am not so active today perturbed by personal problems that I request ed him to postpone the visit rather attend Dineshji’s book release which he can and I may accompany him after we discuss the things with Dineshji who for flood management in Mithila is our index.
Dineshji agreed to me in talks that the best way will be pre-1945 stage i.e. no bandhs on Koshi river or in fact on any river- WHO CAN CONTROL MOTHER, mother Koshi infact is said as unmarried and so Koshi Mai or Koshi Dai ( Father’s sister) world have been more appropriate.
Any attempt to have dams high or low would result in frustration. Science was slapped by Koshi Dai and it resorted to its 350 years back route. The Government experts say that they would try to make pots again to make Koshi on the old (pre- 2008 Kushaha breach) route. As a Civil Engineer from the IIT, Kharagpur, Dineshji also said that was the available scientific way though he too agreed that ‘NO Bandh’ will be ideal(it is not my but his and his friends old theory on which I as a social worker have based my lectures which had input from legendary Dr. Laxman Jha’s letter to me also and though I have been independently working in 1984(at Koparia where Dineshji came first in picture of flood management as Oxfam auditor and dedicated his life for this cause whom I could meet in 1990s sometimes and since then am in close contact) as a medico-relief provider stimulated by Vivekanada of Khagaria, then a student of my alma mater, Darbhanga Medical College, now a professor Radiology at Katihar Medical College.

Today truly said BK Jha that the problem of Koshi Floods though is the matter concerning with the Mithila of Nepal and India but the route problem lies in more north in Himalayas on which he has asked his daughter, an engineer, to have in depth study whle she is presently in a UD University.
I mentioned him my information based on the BBC’s talk with a scientist from Calicut(Kerala) that Himalayan areas have many huge lakes(like Mansarovar) the boundary of which was being damaged releaging millions of cusex of water equivalent snows.. So the floods in Mithila seems to me as a result of global warming an d for this who is responsible?
Dineshji said me yesterday that initially the flood victims demanded compnasation not relief but today we are forced to beg for relief and go for compensation.
But from whom? GOI one may say but in fact it is all due to the US and such highly industrialized countries who spend higher energy than third word. One fifth energy consumption is by US which has merly 4 per cent of the global population which I had written in a deep moment in my one of the Maithili poem..
“Ehi ber Varsha nahi bhel, Gamk Gam daha gel..”
And then this US,etc. give us a prescription of High dams..as a solution..
I was reading Arundhati Roy’s “The Dam Bursts, in the Outlook Vol.XL, No.46, (Nov.27, 2000) which was lying in the garage of BK Jha’s friend Er. KK Thakur from Katihar which he had given me sometimes back to read. In that article she had written that dam builders want to control public water policy. India’s 3600 dams are big dams which was 40 per cent of big dams being constructed in the world which was worth $ 20 billion a year while the contribution of large dams to India’s foodgrain produce was less than 10 per cent while 10 per cent of total amout produced was eaten by rats also!
Whether natural rats had sharp teeth or two-legged rats is a mtter of big concern.
And this was at the cost of 56 million people displacement with almost nil rehabilitation.

Though I do not subscribe her other anti-RSS approach let us concentrate that Koshi or any other river’s flood in Mithila in particular is hardly amenable to high dam concept though Dineshji said me that now Nepal is asking for review treaty and for compensation of flood in its area from the GOI and under pressure GOI may accept any condition from Nepal for Koshi High dam( eg. Two routes to sea - though only one is permitted to land locked countries).
Let it be known that the present Govt. of Nepal has started showing its anti-India instance and BK Jha agreed what I had written sometimes back, Koshi is for Nepal as Pakistan has Kahmir issue.
I add that Maithils in both sides have become like Kashmiri Pandits home refuge and water is due to global warming or explotation which will break our most ancient civilization of Koshi bed.
Dineshji was right that true assessment of damage will be after flood recedes- many persons agricultural land may be sand bed.

I appeal advocates to file PIL for compensation and to people to be united in coming time.
The leaders are criticizing each other. I saw Rambilas Paswan criticizing Govt. of Bihar for not taking due care of bandhs in Nepal which it had to do. The relief package is pre-election package- if UPA is to win it needs seats from Mithila. Everybody want our votes in India and Nepal but nobody wants to give us right.
Maithils in Nepal are as much a neglected lot as in India’s Bihar and Jharkhand!
Sheohar, Arariya and Santahl Pargana have lowest per capita income in India.
Sure, our vote managers have gone to key posts in both sides but that is not the remeady.
On the name of Mithila state many persons have feeling as .”Saanp ke sunghab..”
That may not be the last answer but that is the first for getting our due in India (and so a Mithila state in Nepal as well).

The problems never come in queue and Mathils of both sides should be vigilant.
We need to solve our problems- others may have sympathy for which we are thankful be PM or CM but we Maithils need asked in policy formulation tot tackle our age old maladies.

Those who can go for relief work or can contribute should but that is not the last – the problem needs drastic solution for relief from our perrineal pain and for this as BK Jha was suggesting we the both sides of Mathils should meet our respective governments at delhi and Kathmandu that we should be empowered to find solution and in this connection AMP would like to send its delegation to the concerned.

Your input needed. On a sudden programme I am going today Kolkata for the release of Maithili’s first daily, Maithili Samad to be held at Mahajati Sadan on 31.8.2008 at 500 PM. Though Sahitya Akademy representative of Maithli Dr. Vidyanath Jha Videet infomed me today around 11 am when I phoned him that Dr. Nitya Nand Lal das had written comments on his books, Suramritam and Manav Kalp, I too had written a small criticism which he listened to on phone and suggested me to congratulate Tarakant Ji for his brave step in the arena of Maithili journalism. When I called him Kolkata he requested me which on canceling one of my local meeting here have decided to go where too I will raise Koshi issue.
Prof. NL Das has written an article, Koshi kasi/ Kaishi or Koshi kushi or can it be Koshi Khushi or it would be khudkushi (suicide) anytime in future!