Bashi: Devastated by flood, ignored by administration

Faroghe Azzam

This report is exclusively prepared by the team of Samar (Faroghe Azzam and Rahul Vikas) who visited Bashi on 4th September, 2007.

A small village, Bashi, witnessed a catastrophic change in its fortune in the wee hours of August 2. The swollen Budhi Gandak River breached the embankment and in no time wreaked havoc not only in that village but in the entire district. This is a follow up report month after the flood and a case study on Bashi.

Geographical status:
Bashi is situated thirty kilometers north east of the district headquarters of Begusarai.
● Situated beside Burhi Gandak River
● Block – Bariarpur, PS - Bariarpur
● Legislative Area – Charia Bariarpur
● Parliamentary area – Balia
● Distance between block head quarter – 7 km approx

Sociological/Political aspect
Bashi is a mild populated village. Majority of the population follows Hinduism and belong to lower caste. Minority can be seen in traces, only few Ansaris can be found in the village. The major occupation of the people of Bashi is agriculture, fishing and trade. Very few people have completed their secondary school. However, most of the men know how to read and write. The special thing about the people of Bashi is they are socially obliged. Localites have organized temporary relief camp for the victims on their own. Educational institutions and health sub centre are not very developed.
· Population – approx 7000
· Panchayat – Sakrauli (Bashi)
· Major Caste – Koiri, Pasi, Mallah, Manjhi and Ansari
· Major Occupation – Farming, Labour, Fishing
· Major Crops – Paddy. Wheat, Maize, Mustard, Sugar Cane
· Major Religion – Hindu
· Middle school – one
· Health sub centre – one
· High school – one
· Primary school – one
· Private middle school – one
· Total ward – 15
· More affected ward – ward no. 5 to 15
· Less affected ward 1 to 5
· Employment -

• Total teachers – 20
• Engineer – one
• Army – two
• Railway – 4

· Mukhiya – Ranju Devi
· Former Mukhiya – Sanjay Suman

Reasons behind the collapse of the embankment
It is not yet clear as to how the embankment was breached. However, it is said that the administration and nature, perhaps collaborated to cause this disaster. Local people complain that in the last ten years nothing had been done by the administration to strengthen the embankment. No effort was made to plug the holes. This may be one of the reasons for the collapse of the embankment. However, people believe the following reasons for the collapse of the embankment:

i) Lack of Maintenance – It is believed that Sahis (Indian Porcupine), a fossorial animal, furrowed the wall of embankment. The local villagers noticed the presence and activities of Sahis and complained to the administration but their plea fell on the deaf ears.
ii) Nature’s unpredictable change: The officials are of the view that it was virtually impossible to hold back the fury of river, which changed its course, and thus the embankment was bound to give in.
iii) Nepal flushed more water than the previous years. The current of water raised pressure.

Losses

The swirling waters swept away a large number of human beings, cattle as well as many houses. Besides 600 houses of Bashi Panchayat were badly affected by the flood. In all 128 houses in ward number five of the village was completely washed away . Though the flood claimed 23 lives 17 people are still missing. Around 8,000 acres of land lost its fertility due to accumulation of sand.

Even month later water refuses to drain out from the farmland. People like Dashrat Choudhry and Rama Ashish Chowdhary lost their family members. The unpredictable flood swallowed six members of Mahavir Das’s family and left him alone in the old age. He lost his young daughter and son.
● 600 homes of Bashi Panchayat were more affected.
● 8000 acre of land lost its fertility.
● 23 people died
● 17 people are still missing
● Total field area is washed away
● 128 homes of ward five was completely washed away, this ward was situated very close to the embankment
● Flood has swollen around 250 villages of 4 different districts
● Around four to five feet of sand is accumulated over the fertile land of 15 villages.
● All the government institutions like school, Anganbari Kendra, Panchayat Bhawan and so on are almost shut down after the flood.

Relief:
It is very unfortunate for the people of Bashi and more for those hailing from the economically and socially backward classes. A month after the calamity, relief is still to reach the real needy. Flood victims are finding it extremely difficult to restart their life. They say that the government has only distributed 50 kilograms of wheat and Rs 200 per head. “With water all around what will we do with wheat,” one of them asked with anger writ large on the face. They also complained that most of the relief materials were corned by the people belonging to a particular caste. They said that Pasis, Mallahs, Manjhi and Ansaris are yet to receive relief.

A young woman asked as to how they could restart their life and built their houses with the meager amount of Rs 200. Instead of the government it is some non-government organizations which appeared more sensitive to the plight of the victims. They distributed relief packets of instant use such as candles, match boxes, biscuits, and sattu.

Local government institutions have made their own definition of a family. According to them family consisting of 2 parents and 3 children are considered as a family. Those who have less than 3 children are not given the relief. Some young married couples who have no kids have complained that official authorities who are disseminating relief call their young wives and ask notorious question and refuse to give them relief as they do not come under the definition of family set by them.

Public Demands:
The dry eyes of the people of Bashi are still waiting for a ray of hope. They are left with nothing except a handful of things that they manage to collect after the collapse of the embankment. That is not enough for them to restart their lives. People of Bashi need nourishment but still ignored. However after talking to them in group, they claimed some demands to fulfill.

As in many other flood-hit villages people in Bashi have made relief camps of their own on the embankment of the river. The government has not made a single relief camp for them. Very few hand pumps in the vicinity are working. Life has come to a standstill in the village. There are no agriculture or business activities. Yet people of Bashi are still hoping against hope of the government help.

● To make the unfertile land fertile.
● To start the procedure of reestablishment in order to normalize the situation
● Compensation to restart their lives
● To make new NH out of the boundary area of the village.
● To make permanent solution of the embankment
● To make relief camps

The Real Heroes

Jagdish Sani and his youngest son, saved around 200 lives and many cattle from the clutches of flood. He is a fisherman who belongs to a lower caste. Even his house was immersed under water. He has same courage as our reel heroes have but he played his role in reality, indeed a courageous deed than our reel heroes. He has not charged a single penny for saving people’s lives. For him life is priceless and his conscience do not allow him to take things in return. He was offered thousand rupees from one of the persons he saved but he refused.