IMPACTS OF FLOOD AND ITS MANAGEMENT – A CASE STUDY OF BIHAR.

Floods are most recurring and frequent natural hazard in India causing enormous loss to life and livelihood, and damage to infrastructure. In India, Bihar is one of the worst affected states due to floods. As per one estimate, in Bihar flood affects about 6.880 million hectares of land out of about 9.416 million hectare, which is about 73.06%. It not only affects the infrastructure but also the socio-economic life in the state. So, there is a need to minimize negative consequences and ill effects of flooding by means of flood management. In Bihar, most of the times, the decision makers go for structural measures like construction of embankments, flood retention walls, flood levees and channel improvements, etc. However, it is felt that structural measures itself is not sufficient to reduce the adverse impacts of floods in the state. Hence non-structural measures like flood plain management policy, building bye-laws, flow and silt management policy are also required. It contemplates the use of flood plains judiciously, simultaneously permitting vacating of the same for use by the river whenever the situation demands. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the severity of flood impacts on development of state and to discuss the possible flood management measures in context of Bihar.