Why is there a controversy over the Kosi-Mechi river?
Why is there a controversy over the Kosi-Mechi river?
The Kosi river is called the 'Sorrow of Bihar' because it often causes floods and devastates a large part of the state. An attempt is being made to find a solution to this problem through the Kosi and Mechi river linking scheme. However, many controversies and questions have been raised about this project. There is a lot of opposition to the Kosi-Mechi river linking project in Bihar. people affected by floods are opposing this project. They say that there is no arrangement to protect bihar from the floods that occur every year through this project.
In the recently concluded budget session, the central government had announced to give Rs 11,500 crore to prevent floods in Bihar. The government says that this money will be used for the plan to link the Kosi and Mechi rivers as well as flood prevention and irrigation schemes.
First know about Kosi river
According to the website of the National Water Development Agency of the Ministry of Jal shakti of the central government, the Kosi river originates from tibet and flows through the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. After this it passes through the plains of Bihar. The water of this river often changes its course and brings a lot of soil and sand with it, due to which there is a problem of flood in some areas. To overcome these problems, the governments of india and nepal had made an agreement in the year 1954. Under this agreement, the Kosi-Mechi river linking project has been started.In this project, a dam has been built on the Kosi river, named Hanuman nagar Dam. Apart from this, the Western Kosi Main Canal was built in nepal and the Eastern Kosi Main Canal in India. Now this scheme is being taken forward in which the Eastern Kosi Main Canal will be taken to the Mechi River.