The head of Jan Suraaj, Prashant Kishor, blasted the Bihar government on Monday for its inadequate response to flooding in the state’s north.

He pointed out that almost half of Bihar’s territory is vulnerable to flooding, approximately 30% is constantly flooded, and between 25 and 27 percent of the country is experiencing drought.

Speaking about the flood situation, Kishor stated that large areas of land remain submerged in districts like Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra, Vaishali, Samastipur, Khagaria, and Begusarai. In North Bihar, particularly in the Terai region, districts like West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Supaul, Araria, and Kishanganj are severely affected by flooding and soil erosion.

Kishor, on the other hand, said that South Bihar experiences recurrent droughts due to limited water supplies in the area south of the Ganga River.

Due to this geographic separation, the state has a variety of water-related difficulties that reduce livelihoods and agricultural output.

Prashant Kishor underscored that the upcoming vision statement of the Jan Suraaj party would prioritize a holistic water management strategy above discrete flood prevention tactics.

According to him, “the plan will offer an integrated solution that addresses all three problems simultaneously, instead of approaching floods, droughts, and waterlogging as separate issues.”

He criticized the present methodology and pushed for the creation of a single, statewide water management strategy in place of many strategies like the Kosi Plan and Gandak Plan.

According to Kishor, “this strategy would ensure that water resources are managed more effectively and that waterlogging, drought, and floods are tackled through a coordinated framework.”

He also emphasized that a major contributing cause to the flood situation’s deterioration was corruption.

He said, “The contractors purposefully destroy embankments to obtain more funds under the guise of flood control, allowing corruption to flourish with the complicity of engineers and officials.”

He pointed to China’s example of building a river grid as evidence that Bihar’s floodwaters might be used to its advantage in order to address these problems.

According to Kishor, “China successfully addressed similar issues by tying rivers together to manage waterlogging, floods, and droughts, thus turning a natural challenge into a strength for agriculture and water management.”