‘80-year-old’ leads war on Kosi in Nepal

Kathmandu, Sep 3 (IANS)

A man, said to be in his 80s, is leading the war on the raging Saptakosi river that has been spreading death, destruction and disease in Nepal and India since last month.

Nilendu Sanyal, a former engineer-in-chief in Bihar’s water resources department as well as Flood Control Commission, is the architect of the blueprint that could tame the errant river and beat it back to its old course.

Sanyal, who retired almost two decades ago, is still active and only last year asked the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to use a clever American technology to plug breaches in embankments, a common hazard in both south Nepal and India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states during monsoon.

He is now leading the battle to stop the Saptakosi from destroying more spurs in its barrage. Floods triggered by the waters of the Kosi - as it is known in India - have affected millions of people in the two countries.

Sanyal was flown to Nepal’s submerged Sunsari district, where the Saptakosi barrage is located, Aug 31, to assess the damage. He was flown in by helicopter from Forbesganj in India as the roads are submerged and unusable.

Sanyal and other engineers from Bihar were taken to the site where a spur was in imminent danger of collapsing by motor boats.

‘He was an inspiration to all of us,’ said Jainendra Nath Singh, executive engineer from Bihar’s water resources department, who is camping in the area along with his team.

‘He remained on the spur, discussed what’s to be done and the next morning returned to India to discuss his plans with the authorities.’

Singh said Sanyal has a master plan to restore normalcy.

He has recommended digging a pilot channel so that the excess water of the raging river can be diverted, leaving it weak and then beat back the feeble river to its old course.

The barrage on the Saptakosi river was built in 1954 after a water-sharing pact between India and Nepal.

Nepalis accuse the then prime minister, Matrika Prasad Koirala, who signed it, of succumbing to Indian pressure and acceding most advantages to the bigger neighbour.

The barrage was built by India and according to the pact, the government of Bihar has to maintain it.

However, there are allegations of corruption and negligence on both sides of the border.

Nepal’s new Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called the Kosi pact a ‘historic blunder’ and is expected to discuss scrapping or reviewing the treaty with the Indian authorities when he visits New Delhi later this month.

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