Bihar worried as wild elephants obstruct flood protection measures in Kusaha, Nepal

Wild elephants are seriously obstructing the Bihar government’s flood protection measures in the Kusaha area of Nepal, about 12 km north of Birpur, a border town in Supaul district, which are crucial for the well being of vast areas of north Bihar.

For, it was in Kusaha that the eastern afflux bund (embankment) on the Kosi river had been breached in August 2008, causing widespread devastation in five districts of north Bihar as well as in some parts of the Himalayan country. The catastrophe had claimed almost 500 lives and affected over three million people.

Officials engaged in flood protection measures said elephants inhabiting the nearby protected forest zone frequently came out of their abode and blocked the mobility of men and machinery deployed by the Bihar water resources department (WRD), alongside the afflux bund.

“These elephants cause damage to anti-flood structures like spurs, which have been built to deflect strong current of water and minimise the river’s impact on the embankment,” said a source overseeing the flood protection measures.

The wild elephants have also been demolishing camp offices set up by the department to protect the 32 km long eastern afflux bund, constructed on the upstream of the Kosi. The structure has been built to check the increased level of water caused by the construction of Birpur barrage on the river.

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