By Amelia GentlemanInternational Herald Tribune
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Losing everything he owns has become a routine disaster for Shankar, 25, a landless laborer in the northeastern state of Bihar, who this month saw his home and belongings destroyed in some of the worst floods to hit north India in decades."This is the third time I've lost my house in the rains," he said, standing in water, peering into the shell of his home, hopeful of salvaging something from the ruins. "This year the rains were worse, and the waters are deeper. But in the end it's the same. I have nothing left."Only the roof of his thatch house was visible above the muddy green waters that turned his village of Malinagar into a lagoon two weeks ago. Beneath the rippling surface, the straw walls have slipped over and his stock of grain for the winter, his clothes, furniture and children's possessions are slowly rotting.The monsoon rains in India are a democratic force. When the skies open, the water pours on the homes of rich and poor alike. But after the deluge, the poor always suffer most.Bihar is the most backward state in India, barely touched by the soaring growth and new economic confidence of the major cities. Yet there are gradations within this poverty, and sub-classes of richer and poorer co-exist. The richer residents of Malinagar still have their homes, made from sturdy brick and concrete. Some managed to shelter on their flat roofs, when the flood came at the start of the month. The poorer, living in shacks without electricity, at the exposed edges of the village, had to flee to roughly made shelters on higher land.
Those with a few hundred rupees to spare were able to buy plastic sheeting from the market, which they slung between bamboo poles to protect their families against the lashing rain. Others had only the scant cover offered by saris and stitched-together sacks. The most ill-prepared huddled beneath plantain leaves. Later they witnessed their own flimsy homes sink beneath the waters, disintegrating in the currents.This week the flood began receding, replaced by a stinking, stagnating sludge, but villages remain cut off, and many of those houses that have re-emerged are uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people are still sheltering beneath bed sheets along the raised highways crisscrossing the state, just inches away from the traffic, which grinds past, splattering them with mud. Life cannot yet begin again for most of the 14 million that the United Nations estimates have been affected by the crisis in Bihar.Unicef officials said Thursday that about 2,800 people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have died since the monsoon season began from drowning, waterborne illnesses, snakebites or hunger. But for most, the real endurance test is just beginning. With crops destroyed and fields bloated with water, there will be no agricultural work for millions of landless laborers here for many months, leaving them to rely on the sporadic support of aid agencies and government relief organizations. Unicef said it was concerned by the prospect of worsening child malnutrition.In a certain light, in the lull between the storms, Malinagar becomes a mirage of watery beauty. Beyond the shells of drowned houses, the floodwaters from the burst Bagmati River stretch as far as the eye can see. A month ago, the lake was a parched wheat field. Now village girls sit like mermaids, combing their hair, half-submerged beneath the calm lake waters, cooling themselves; children shriek with excitement as they splash by the shores.But Shankar, who goes by only one name, finds nothing to rejoice at. He is familiar with the deprivation that follows the flood. His wife and two daughters, 6 and 1, live on the wages he earns as a laborer in the fields.
Those with a few hundred rupees to spare were able to buy plastic sheeting from the market, which they slung between bamboo poles to protect their families against the lashing rain. Others had only the scant cover offered by saris and stitched-together sacks. The most ill-prepared huddled beneath plantain leaves. Later they witnessed their own flimsy homes sink beneath the waters, disintegrating in the currents.This week the flood began receding, replaced by a stinking, stagnating sludge, but villages remain cut off, and many of those houses that have re-emerged are uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people are still sheltering beneath bed sheets along the raised highways crisscrossing the state, just inches away from the traffic, which grinds past, splattering them with mud. Life cannot yet begin again for most of the 14 million that the United Nations estimates have been affected by the crisis in Bihar.Unicef officials said Thursday that about 2,800 people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have died since the monsoon season began from drowning, waterborne illnesses, snakebites or hunger. But for most, the real endurance test is just beginning. With crops destroyed and fields bloated with water, there will be no agricultural work for millions of landless laborers here for many months, leaving them to rely on the sporadic support of aid agencies and government relief organizations. Unicef said it was concerned by the prospect of worsening child malnutrition.In a certain light, in the lull between the storms, Malinagar becomes a mirage of watery beauty. Beyond the shells of drowned houses, the floodwaters from the burst Bagmati River stretch as far as the eye can see. A month ago, the lake was a parched wheat field. Now village girls sit like mermaids, combing their hair, half-submerged beneath the calm lake waters, cooling themselves; children shriek with excitement as they splash by the shores.But Shankar, who goes by only one name, finds nothing to rejoice at. He is familiar with the deprivation that follows the flood. His wife and two daughters, 6 and 1, live on the wages he earns as a laborer in the fields.
Those with a few hundred rupees to spare were able to buy plastic sheeting from the market, which they slung between bamboo poles to protect their families against the lashing rain. Others had only the scant cover offered by saris and stitched-together sacks. The most ill-prepared huddled beneath plantain leaves. Later they witnessed their own flimsy homes sink beneath the waters, disintegrating in the currents.This week the flood began receding, replaced by a stinking, stagnating sludge, but villages remain cut off, and many of those houses that have re-emerged are uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people are still sheltering beneath bed sheets along the raised highways crisscrossing the state, just inches away from the traffic, which grinds past, splattering them with mud. Life cannot yet begin again for most of the 14 million that the United Nations estimates have been affected by the crisis in Bihar.Unicef officials said Thursday that about 2,800 people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have died since the monsoon season began from drowning, waterborne illnesses, snakebites or hunger. But for most, the real endurance test is just beginning. With crops destroyed and fields bloated with water, there will be no agricultural work for millions of landless laborers here for many months, leaving them to rely on the sporadic support of aid agencies and government relief organizations. Unicef said it was concerned by the prospect of worsening child malnutrition.In a certain light, in the lull between the storms, Malinagar becomes a mirage of watery beauty. Beyond the shells of drowned houses, the floodwaters from the burst Bagmati River stretch as far as the eye can see. A month ago, the lake was a parched wheat field. Now village girls sit like mermaids, combing their hair, half-submerged beneath the calm lake waters, cooling themselves; children shriek with excitement as they splash by the shores.But Shankar, who goes by only one name, finds nothing to rejoice at. He is familiar with the deprivation that follows the flood. His wife and two daughters, 6 and 1, live on the wages he earns as a laborer in the fields.
Those with a few hundred rupees to spare were able to buy plastic sheeting from the market, which they slung between bamboo poles to protect their families against the lashing rain. Others had only the scant cover offered by saris and stitched-together sacks. The most ill-prepared huddled beneath plantain leaves. Later they witnessed their own flimsy homes sink beneath the waters, disintegrating in the currents.This week the flood began receding, replaced by a stinking, stagnating sludge, but villages remain cut off, and many of those houses that have re-emerged are uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people are still sheltering beneath bed sheets along the raised highways crisscrossing the state, just inches away from the traffic, which grinds past, splattering them with mud. Life cannot yet begin again for most of the 14 million that the United Nations estimates have been affected by the crisis in Bihar.Unicef officials said Thursday that about 2,800 people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have died since the monsoon season began from drowning, waterborne illnesses, snakebites or hunger. But for most, the real endurance test is just beginning. With crops destroyed and fields bloated with water, there will be no agricultural work for millions of landless laborers here for many months, leaving them to rely on the sporadic support of aid agencies and government relief organizations. Unicef said it was concerned by the prospect of worsening child malnutrition.In a certain light, in the lull between the storms, Malinagar becomes a mirage of watery beauty. Beyond the shells of drowned houses, the floodwaters from the burst Bagmati River stretch as far as the eye can see. A month ago, the lake was a parched wheat field. Now village girls sit like mermaids, combing their hair, half-submerged beneath the calm lake waters, cooling themselves; children shriek with excitement as they splash by the shores.But Shankar, who goes by only one name, finds nothing to rejoice at. He is familiar with the deprivation that follows the flood. His wife and two daughters, 6 and 1, live on the wages he earns as a laborer in the fields.
"There is no work, so there is no money," he said. "I\'m worried about how the children will eat. Even now we are eating dry bread with salt. It\'s very sad for the children to live like that."The village leader, Vijay Sharma, said those with the least to lose had lost the most. "The richer villagers have ways of working things out. The poorest will not get any work for months more. I don\'t know how they are going to survive," he said.At a national level, the plight of these flood victims attracts little compassion. Early this month, when the United Nations declared these floods the worst in living memory, the miserable condition of the 31 million affected in India was widely covered internationally but was neither front-page news in Delhi newspapers nor featured on national news channels. Instead, bulletins were dominated by the sentencing of a Bollywood star to jail. In one paper, flood coverage was restricted to a short piece on animals being evacuated from a wildlife park.Such apathy is not unusual. English-language newspapers in India often neglect the suffering of the rural poor, more preoccupied with the triumphs of the emerging India than the familiar stories of extreme hardship experienced by hundreds of millions of Indians living on the land.Even within the government, attempts to implement a national flood prevention policy have been half-hearted. The official Web site for the Water Resources Ministry states that a National Flood Commission was established in 1976 to draw up a "coordinated" and "scientific" approach to the problem, but added: "Though the report was submitted in 1980 and accepted by government, not much progress has been made in the implementation of its recommendations."Saifuddin Soz, the Indian water resources minister, said that the suggestions of a more recent 2004 task force on flood prevention had also not been implemented because of funding shortages. He said he was hopeful that more resources might be granted as a result of the severe flooding this year. "Once the crisis is over I will be calling on the cabinet to create a national commission for flood management," he said."There is no work, so there is no money," he said. "I'm worried about how the children will eat. Even now we are eating dry bread with salt. It's very sad for the children to live like that."The village leader, Vijay Sharma, said those with the least to lose had lost the most. "The richer villagers have ways of working things out. The poorest will not get any work for months more. I don't know how they are going to survive," he said.At a national level, the plight of these flood victims attracts little compassion. Early this month, when the United Nations declared these floods the worst in living memory, the miserable condition of the 31 million affected in India was widely covered internationally but was neither front-page news in Delhi newspapers nor featured on national news channels. Instead, bulletins were dominated by the sentencing of a Bollywood star to jail. In one paper, flood coverage was restricted to a short piece on animals being evacuated from a wildlife park.Such apathy is not unusual. English-language newspapers in India often neglect the suffering of the rural poor, more preoccupied with the triumphs of the emerging India than the familiar stories of extreme hardship experienced by hundreds of millions of Indians living on the land.Even within the government, attempts to implement a national flood prevention policy have been half-hearted. The official Web site for the Water Resources Ministry states that a National Flood Commission was established in 1976 to draw up a "coordinated" and "scientific" approach to the problem, but added: "Though the report was submitted in 1980 and accepted by government, not much progress has been made in the implementation of its recommendations."Saifuddin Soz, the Indian water resources minister, said that the suggestions of a more recent 2004 task force on flood prevention had also not been implemented because of funding shortages. He said he was hopeful that more resources might be granted as a result of the severe flooding this year. "Once the crisis is over I will be calling on the cabinet to create a national commission for flood management," he said.
Among the homeless, waiting for the waters to dry up, there was less optimism.Across Bihar, memories remain fresh of Gautam Goswami, a government official named as one of "Asia's heroes" by Time magazine for his "brilliant" coordination relief operations after the 2004 floods, who later was accused of embezzling $2 million in flood relief money. The state's reputation for official corruption is well-entrenched, and local journalists question whether money allocated for repairing the river banks was ever spent.Victims say the government response this year was slow. When the floods broke, the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, was touring Mauritius. When he returned a week later he was pelted with stones by flood victims, furious at his extended absence. This week there was rioting at two distribution camps in Bihar as the homeless fought for food aid. The police beat one flood survivor to death.Manohar Paswan, 45, stared across the water at the rubble that used to be his house, his head shaven out of respect for the youngest of his seven children, a 6-month-old boy, Nitish, who died a week ago.Thursday after being bitten by one of the poisonous snakes that thrive in the floodwaters. Marooned, there was no way of getting help and Nitish soon died. Now, with no prospect of work, Paswan is concerned at how his family will eat in the months to come."Government help is nowhere to be seen," he said Among the homeless, waiting for the waters to dry up, there was less optimism.Across Bihar, memories remain fresh of Gautam Goswami, a government official named as one of "Asia's heroes" by Time magazine for his "brilliant" coordination relief operations after the 2004 floods, who later was accused of embezzling $2 million in flood relief money. The state's reputation for official corruption is well-entrenched, and local journalists question whether money allocated for repairing the river banks was ever spent.Victims say the government response this year was slow. When the floods broke, the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, was touring Mauritius. When he returned a week later he was pelted with stones by flood victims, furious at his extended absence. This week there was rioting at two distribution camps in Bihar as the homeless fought for food aid. The police beat one flood survivor to death.Manohar Paswan, 45, stared across the water at the rubble that used to be his house, his head shaven out of respect for the youngest of his seven children, a 6-month-old boy, Nitish, who died a week ago Thursday after being bitten by one of the poisonous snakes that thrive in the floodwaters. Marooned, there was no way of getting help and Nitish soon died. Now, with no prospect of work, Paswan is concerned at how his family will eat in the months to come."Government help is nowhere to be seen," he said.
"There is no work, so there is no money," he said. "I\'m worried about how the children will eat. Even now we are eating dry bread with salt. It\'s very sad for the children to live like that."The village leader, Vijay Sharma, said those with the least to lose had lost the most. "The richer villagers have ways of working things out. The poorest will not get any work for months more. I don\'t know how they are going to survive," he said.At a national level, the plight of these flood victims attracts little compassion. Early this month, when the United Nations declared these floods the worst in living memory, the miserable condition of the 31 million affected in India was widely covered internationally but was neither front-page news in Delhi newspapers nor featured on national news channels. Instead, bulletins were dominated by the sentencing of a Bollywood star to jail. In one paper, flood coverage was restricted to a short piece on animals being evacuated from a wildlife park.Such apathy is not unusual. English-language newspapers in India often neglect the suffering of the rural poor, more preoccupied with the triumphs of the emerging India than the familiar stories of extreme hardship experienced by hundreds of millions of Indians living on the land.Even within the government, attempts to implement a national flood prevention policy have been half-hearted. The official Web site for the Water Resources Ministry states that a National Flood Commission was established in 1976 to draw up a "coordinated" and "scientific" approach to the problem, but added: "Though the report was submitted in 1980 and accepted by government, not much progress has been made in the implementation of its recommendations."Saifuddin Soz, the Indian water resources minister, said that the suggestions of a more recent 2004 task force on flood prevention had also not been implemented because of funding shortages. He said he was hopeful that more resources might be granted as a result of the severe flooding this year. "Once the crisis is over I will be calling on the cabinet to create a national commission for flood management," he said."There is no work, so there is no money," he said. "I'm worried about how the children will eat. Even now we are eating dry bread with salt. It's very sad for the children to live like that."The village leader, Vijay Sharma, said those with the least to lose had lost the most. "The richer villagers have ways of working things out. The poorest will not get any work for months more. I don't know how they are going to survive," he said.At a national level, the plight of these flood victims attracts little compassion. Early this month, when the United Nations declared these floods the worst in living memory, the miserable condition of the 31 million affected in India was widely covered internationally but was neither front-page news in Delhi newspapers nor featured on national news channels. Instead, bulletins were dominated by the sentencing of a Bollywood star to jail. In one paper, flood coverage was restricted to a short piece on animals being evacuated from a wildlife park.Such apathy is not unusual. English-language newspapers in India often neglect the suffering of the rural poor, more preoccupied with the triumphs of the emerging India than the familiar stories of extreme hardship experienced by hundreds of millions of Indians living on the land.Even within the government, attempts to implement a national flood prevention policy have been half-hearted. The official Web site for the Water Resources Ministry states that a National Flood Commission was established in 1976 to draw up a "coordinated" and "scientific" approach to the problem, but added: "Though the report was submitted in 1980 and accepted by government, not much progress has been made in the implementation of its recommendations."Saifuddin Soz, the Indian water resources minister, said that the suggestions of a more recent 2004 task force on flood prevention had also not been implemented because of funding shortages. He said he was hopeful that more resources might be granted as a result of the severe flooding this year. "Once the crisis is over I will be calling on the cabinet to create a national commission for flood management," he said.
Among the homeless, waiting for the waters to dry up, there was less optimism.Across Bihar, memories remain fresh of Gautam Goswami, a government official named as one of "Asia's heroes" by Time magazine for his "brilliant" coordination relief operations after the 2004 floods, who later was accused of embezzling $2 million in flood relief money. The state's reputation for official corruption is well-entrenched, and local journalists question whether money allocated for repairing the river banks was ever spent.Victims say the government response this year was slow. When the floods broke, the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, was touring Mauritius. When he returned a week later he was pelted with stones by flood victims, furious at his extended absence. This week there was rioting at two distribution camps in Bihar as the homeless fought for food aid. The police beat one flood survivor to death.Manohar Paswan, 45, stared across the water at the rubble that used to be his house, his head shaven out of respect for the youngest of his seven children, a 6-month-old boy, Nitish, who died a week ago.Thursday after being bitten by one of the poisonous snakes that thrive in the floodwaters. Marooned, there was no way of getting help and Nitish soon died. Now, with no prospect of work, Paswan is concerned at how his family will eat in the months to come."Government help is nowhere to be seen," he said Among the homeless, waiting for the waters to dry up, there was less optimism.Across Bihar, memories remain fresh of Gautam Goswami, a government official named as one of "Asia's heroes" by Time magazine for his "brilliant" coordination relief operations after the 2004 floods, who later was accused of embezzling $2 million in flood relief money. The state's reputation for official corruption is well-entrenched, and local journalists question whether money allocated for repairing the river banks was ever spent.Victims say the government response this year was slow. When the floods broke, the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, was touring Mauritius. When he returned a week later he was pelted with stones by flood victims, furious at his extended absence. This week there was rioting at two distribution camps in Bihar as the homeless fought for food aid. The police beat one flood survivor to death.Manohar Paswan, 45, stared across the water at the rubble that used to be his house, his head shaven out of respect for the youngest of his seven children, a 6-month-old boy, Nitish, who died a week ago Thursday after being bitten by one of the poisonous snakes that thrive in the floodwaters. Marooned, there was no way of getting help and Nitish soon died. Now, with no prospect of work, Paswan is concerned at how his family will eat in the months to come."Government help is nowhere to be seen," he said.
