Greetings Friends!
Floods are a common occurrence in the Terai region. The situation becomes even worse during the rainy season because being situated on the banks of the Ghaghra river, this Terai region faces the horror of floods. A bridge of about 3 km has been built on the Ghaghra river located at a distance of 7 km, in which thousands of cusecs of water is released from the neighboring country.
At present, about 12 villages of various Gram Sabhas have been completely submerged in water.
Due to lack of space to live, most of the villagers have built houses on the side of the highway road.
The administration is providing them facilities but they are not enough.
As soon as the rainy season begins, lines of worry appear on the faces of the residents of these 12 hamlets. Due to the presence of many ponds and small rivers nearby, hundreds of people lose their lives every year.
It is a densely populated area in which most of the people are less educated and belong to the working class. The main occupation of these people is agriculture and animal husbandry. Due to the flood situation, neither farming is done properly nor is there any arrangement of food for the animals.
Due to these conditions, most of the stray animals reach even those areas where there is no flood situation. In such a situation, they cause a lot of damage to the standing fields and cause economic loss.
This kind of situation has been prevailing here for the last 1 month. Most of the people have become unemployed because they are still wandering in search of their house.
You can see in these pictures how the village is filled with water. The means of transportation are completely closed.
At some places, boats have been arranged and people take their household goods to safe places with the help of these boats. The main source of livelihood of the rural people is their fields which are completely submerged.
By the time the water level goes down, their decisions are completely ruined. This is the reason why most people are forced to go to other cities and work as daily wage labourers instead of doing agriculture.
The government is providing them with essential food but due to the low level employees, everyone is not able to get enough food. The biggest problem is the waterlogging in the village for a month. You will be surprised to know that the maximum population of the district lives in this Terai region, yet no permanent solution has been found for these people. This is not just a problem this time, but every year whenever the rainy season starts, these people have to face a similar situation.
The highway connecting Gonda and Bahraich has been built through these areas, where most people make their temporary residence. Otherwise, there would be no place for these people to live during the rainy season.
There are many villages which get wiped out every year and are re-established after the rainy season is over. For about one and a half months, the education of the children of these villagers is completely disrupted. Due to the distance of the headquarters being between 70 to 80 kilometers, they also have to face medical problems.
Not only this, after the rains, due to the mud and water everywhere, they also have to face communicable diseases. The number of mosquitoes increases so much that every year hundreds of people from these areas lose their lives by falling prey to dengue. In the rainy season, snakes make the upper part of their houses their home, due to which many people also die of snakebite. There is no one to listen to the problems of these people. Even if the problems are heard, it is not enough for these people.
Most of the people still believe that this is the main center of the vote bank. During floods, people from different parties come and provide them some help or the other and try to pull them towards themselves. These people are no less clever.
They deliberately do not build permanent houses and build their houses with walls made of mud and sludge.
They are given compensation for the houses which get washed away in floods.
Every year people get compensation but these people misuse that money and spend it on some other things. Most of the houses are found to be slums. The strange thing is that these people do not even want to leave that place. During floods, rivers bring fertile soil with them due to which wheat, maize and paddy crops can be easily grown here.
They suffer a lot of losses in Kharif crops but they get enough profit in Rabi crops. This is the reason that despite the floods every year, these people do not leave that place.
Due to the construction of a bridge connecting two districts, employment opportunities are also available here. A bridge of more than 3 kilometers has been constructed in the Ghaghra river spread over 3 kilometers, due to which trade with the neighboring district has also got a boost.
This picture is of the time when I myself went there for development. In a way, the responsibility of surveying the village was given by the administration. It was impossible to reach the village in such a terrible flood, so the report was prepared on the basis of whatever the villagers told. Since some schools are located on islands, one has to go by water boat to impart education there.
In the months of July, August and September, the teaching work in this area is completely disrupted and the people associated with it have to register their presence at the Block Resource Center. It is strange that nature plays havoc with these people but after the floods, this area is considered to be the most fertile area.
Black soil is found in abundance here which is considered to be very good soil for various crops. The situation is such that despite so many problems, no one wants to leave this place. The reason behind this is that people get employment opportunities from here.
After the rains, good results are received. Apart from this, good compensation is also received from the government for the damaged houses.
Some people still believe that the Ghaghra river is not a curse for them but a boon because every year they get a good amount of money in the form of compensation. Whatever may be the case, the style in which a person lives is the best for him.
Regards…
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