Kosi floods in Bihar, India- Different methods to minimize flood must be adopted.

Kosi floods in Bihar, India- Different methods to minimize flood must be adopted.
By
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Seeing devastating floods by the kosi river now it is ripe time to search for the methods which can help to minimize such floods. Earlier I have suggested for the construction for new big dams in the Bihar state on kosi river. There are other methods too which can be implemented in the affected areas. Most important is removing the sediments from the river beds because every year Kosi contributes heavy sediment in Bihar plains. Owing to extensive soil erosion and landslides in its upper catchment by factors both natural and human, the silt yield of the Kosi is about 10 cubic yard /acre/yr, one of the highest in the world. It was observed earlier that at many locations water level in the channel within the embankments is significantly higher than the general ground level in the surrounding areas. Deposition of sediments either within the channels or on the channel margin restricts the passage of water and thus reduces the carrying capacity of the channel.
Making inter-linking canals parallel or vertical to the flow of the river can also be adopted, so that surplus water during the rainy season can be diverted to other areas devoid of water. Small check dams should be built in frequent intervals in the canals to maintain water level. Building canals is not the recent method. The oldest known canals were built in Mesopotamia circa 4000 BC, in what is now modern day Iraq and Syria. The Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and North India (from circa 2600 BC) had a sophisticated canal irrigation system. Agriculture was practised on a large scale, and an extensive network of canals was used for the purpose of irrigation. Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed, including the reservoirs built at Girnar in 3000 BC.
Construction of storage dams along the river course will considerably reduce the severity of floods and the resultant damages.
Interlinking of kosi river with other rivers is expected to greatly reduce the regional imbalance in the availability of water. Surplus water which spreads in bigger areas during floods would be fruitfully utilized.
Flow diversion is one of the efficient ways of coping with flood situation. The primitive way of achieving this is to break levees in the area where the flood damage will be relatively small. Such area should be a depression surrounded by secondary dikes, and free of habitation. Further, there should be good drainage facilities to get the water back into the river after the flood recedes. Diversion channel is an effective way of diverting part of the flow.
Water management is perhaps the most serious problem facing the nation. The critical problem is the uneven distribution of the run-offs and precipitation rates during the monsoon season. In the kosi and Ganga regions not only is the area liable to floods high, but the frequency at which the floods occur is also high. In general human life in the Kosi and Ganga plains is significantly affected by the flood hazards more often than in the Peninsular India, where the areal extent of the flood-prone lands is limited and the recurrence interval of big floods is greater.
Large floods on most of the North Bihar rivers are a direct result of intense cyclonic storms and depressions. Also due to effect of global warming, glaciers in the Himalayas are melting which are contributing water to the rivers. Water from the melting glaciers and rain water together is creating menace over the area.
Some of the largest and most calamitous floods in the Indian subcontinent have been produced from failure or breaching of natural or man-made dams as it happened in Kosi dam built in Nepal. Seeing this situation I earlier suggested for new big dam on the Kosi river in Bihar. Building big dams will definitely create problems like displacement, more area coming under water etc. But seeing the miseries, deaths and displacements due to devastating floods on large scale every year by the people of North Bihar ,one time displacement can be accepted.

Kosi floods in Bihar, India- New Big Dam is the only solution.

Kosi floods in Bihar, India- New Big Dam is the only solution.
By
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
The swollen Kosi River breaking its embankments and changing course has ravaged many villages on its way to join the river Ganges affecting over a million people in Bihar.
Kosi River flows from Nepal to India and is known as the ''Sorrow of Bihar'' for the havoc it wreaks in many districts of the eastern state each year. The Kosi River, called Koshi in Nepal, is a transboundary river between Nepal and India, and is one of the largest tributaries of the Ganga. The river, along with its tributaries, drains a total area of 69,300 sq. km up to its confluence with the Ganga in India.
The river basin is surrounded by the ridges separating it from the Brahmaputra in the north, the Gandaki in the west, the Mahananda in the east, and by the Ganga in the south. The river is joined by major tributaries, approximately 48 km north of the Indo-Nepal border, breaking into more than twelve distinct channels with shifting courses due to flooding.
India is second in the world after Bangladesh in deaths due to flooding, accounting for one fifth of global flooding deaths.
Every year during the monsoon season, the Bihar region appears in the headlines because of large scale flooding. In general, this is also the time to go through the annual ritual of accusing the peasants of Nepal and the nearby mountain regions for sending down floods in even-higher volumes.
The Kosi river fan located in the northern part of India (in northeast Bihar and eastern Mithila) is one of the largest alluvial cones built by any river in the world. This 180 km long and 150 km wide alluvial cone shows evidence of lateral channel shifting exceeding 120 km during the past 250 years through more than 12 distinct channels. The river, which used to flow near Purnea in the 18th century, now flows west of Saharsa in Bihar.
It is said that due to large scale of deforestation in the Himalayas the rivers bring high influx of water and sediments and create havoc in the Bihar fields just like Kosi river did today. Kosi area is devoid of vegetation. The nature and extent of vegetation have strong control on runoff characteristics of the river catchments. The vegetation generates greater infiltration, and consequently a lesser amount of runoff. in North Bihar except Champaran where forest is significant (10.92%) most districts including Saharsa, Purnea, Supol etc the forest cover is very thin.
Even the areas affected today have very thin forest cover. It is now essential to create more forest cover which I am sure will minimize the flood calamity.
The other important solution to prevent this flood is to build big dams in Bihar bordering Nepal. Seeing the area coming under seismic zones proper precaution must be taken in building the Dams.
The Dam built on the Kosi river in Nepal has now become old and ill maintained. So it has now become essential to build more bigger dam in Bihar compared to Nepal to prevent such calamity.
All the tributaries of Kosi river encircle Mt Everest from all sides and are fed by the world's highest glaciers. These melting of the glaciers contribute high volume of water to the Kosi river with rain water during monsoon. High sediment load with water flow multiply the menace. Every year Kosi contributes heavy sediment in Bihar plains. Owing to extensive soil erosion and landslides in its upper catchment by factors both natural and human, the silt yield of the Kosi is about 10 cubic yard /acre/yr, one of the highest in the world.
Several workers have reported neotectonic movements in north Bihar. On the basis of experimental result it was showed that subsidence in an area causes flooding in the downstream reaches of a braided stream. In case of meandering channel, subsidence results in flooding in downstream reaches at the axis of deformation because of cut offs. The major parts of north Bihar plains are actively subsiding. Further, the neotectonic activities in the Himalayan region have resulted in unstable slopes, loose and fragmented rocks and higher river gradients. All these effects contribute to high sediment load of these rivers and, as a result, the beds of these rivers are rising rapidly. The bed of Kosi in Bihar is now at a higher level than the flood plain. It seems therefore that rapid subsidence combined with very high sedimentation rates have resulted in reduction in carrying capacity of channels in downstream reaches which experience frequent and severe flooding.

Big dams are constructed for the storage of more water so that the stored water is available in non-monsoon months. If the stored water is not used in non-monsoon months, then during the high monsoon with intense bouts of rain water level in these reservoirs will definitely increase the possibility of destructive floods in the river basins. Kosi dam may have faced the same phenomenon as this year Kosi river catchment area in Himalayas received heavy rainfall building pressure on the Dam in Nepal. Most of the big dams in India and Nepal are old and due to lack of proper maintenance they favour such types of devastating floods. As in the case of Kosi river engineers have cautioned about the damage being created due to high influx of water in the dam.
Further, the mountain fed rivers have mixed contributions from snowmelt runoff and monsoonal rainfall. Even during lean periods (summer), runoff contribution due to snowmelt is quite significant. The cumulative effect of monsoon rainfall and snow melt runoff results in sudden increase in the river discharge mounting pressure on the ill maintained dams. The shallow alluvial channels between the narrow banks and embankments cannot effectively carry this sudden jump in discharge consequently resulting in breaches and spilling of banks.
Further, river Kosi and other rivers of Bihar are characterized by high sediment load, mainly wash load which causes rapid aggradation of the river bed. It was observed earlier that at many locations water level in the channel within the embankments is significantly higher than the general ground level in the surrounding areas. Deposition of sediments either within the channels or on the channel margin restricts the passage of water and thus reduces the carrying capacity of the channel. This again results in over spilling of water on the adjacent plains- Kosi being the best example.

Toxic Parthenium grass spreading in Ranchi city of Jharkhand State, India.

Toxic Parthenium grass spreading in Ranchi city of Jharkhand State, India.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Fig: Parthenium around State Pollution Control Board

Cases of breathlessness and asthma due to pollution through different sources - air, water and pollen –may rise alarmingly in the city of Ranchi the capital of Jharkhand State of India. Threat comes from rapid growth of Parthenium grass, better known as “Congress Grass”.
People of Ranchi and its adjoining areas are going to be affected with asthma, Allergic, Trinities Sinusitis, dermatitis (type of skin disease) especially among the childrens, Eczema, Allergic papules and all types of Allergic reactions.
It cannot be said that above mentioned diseases were not common in Ranchi earlier. Climate of Ranchi unfortunately favours such types of diseases, but with the growth of parthenium this diseases are going to multiply affecting more people.
The most vulnerable areas are outskirts of Ranchi city like HEC township, SAIL and MECON and Harmu colonies. These are places where the weed is found in plenty and it has been seen spreading to other parts of the city. The most interesting is that weeds has also surrounded Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board office in HEC area.
What is the Municipal Corporation of Ranchi doing to check the growth of this parthenium grass?

Parthenium weed's botanical name is Parthenium Hystrophorous. It is a herbaceous plant, and a native of Tropical America. It is an annual herb and has a deep taproot and erect stem, which becomes woody with age. Parthenium weed leaves are deeply lobed. It is pale green in colour and has soft hair. Parthenium weed flower is creamy white in color. The weed has a large number of stems. It has small (1-2mm long) black seeds with white scales. They are not visible to the naked eye. It has been declared noxious in America, Australia, India and many other countries especially those having tropical climates.
A single plant can produce 10,000 to 15,000 viable seeds that occupy roadsides, tank bunds, fence lines, waste lands, agricultural fields etc.

This plant has covered most parts of the HEC areas, especially along the roadsides, and the waste lands around J.N. College campus, and it is rapidly moving towards the center of the City. This spreading is going to cause many serious health problems to the people of Ranchi.
If it intrudes into the agricultural domain productivity is definitely going to be adversely affected.
Just few years ago Ranchi was free from such toxic plants but now this weed has shown its presence threatening the health of the Ranchi people.
It squeezes grasslands and pastures, reducing the fodder supply. Scientists describe it as a "poisonous, allergic and aggressive weed posing a serious threat to human beings and livestock."
The presence of parthenium in cropped lands results in yield reduction up to 40 per cent. It is also responsible for bitter milk disease in livestock fed on grass mixed with parthenium.
Probing biological pollutant, highly successful in distribution. No species of the past or the present century can ever match with this.
The reasons for its fast spread are: (l) High germination ability throughout the year, (2) Large seed production ability, (3) High survival rate, (4) Extreme adaptability in a wide range of habitats. (5) Easy dispersal of seeds.
From the day it was perceived as a menace, efforts are being made to control the weed by different methods. But so far, no single method appears to be satisfactory, as each method suffers from one or more limitations, such as high cost, impracticability, environmental safety, tem and Mechanical Eradication It is observed that cutting or slashing of parthenium enhances its regeneration. So uprooting manually is the finest option. During the rainy season, the soil remains wet and hence manual or mechanical removal can be done before the onset of flowering with people's participation. This operation should be started before blooming as uprooting after fruit setting will be a sheer waste of time and money. As manual removal is not cost effective, it can be advocated only in limited situations. If it becomes imperative to use labour, they should be equipped with protective measures including ascertaining their parthenium sensitiveness.
During the last few years much emphasis has been laid on controlling parthenium through various biological agents like insects, pathogens and by creating competition that result in 'survival of the fittest'. In the recent past, this approach gained momentum to do away with unwanted plants. Experimentally, it was found that Cassia species can control parthenium. C.sericea(C.uniflora), a non-nitrogen fixing leguminous herb, colonizes more aggressively without giving scope for Parthenium to manifest. Cassia can be encouraged either from wild source or by introducing it in targeted areas.
Problems associated with Parthenium:
1. It is a vigorous species, which colonizes in grassy land . It grows rapidly in bare areas along
roadsides and water points.
2. It reduces the production of pasture.
3. It is very expensive to control.
4. It is a major health hazard to human beings.
5. It emits carbon dioxide and hence, poses a problem to nitrogen fixation and becomes a
parasite, dependent on standing crops and animals in its vicinity.
6. Its pollens are a major cause of asthma, especially in children and elderly people.
7. It is a major cause of Allergic, Trinities Sinusitis, affecting about ten percent of the people who
live near it.
8. It is a major cause of dermatitis, a skin disease, among animals and human being.
9. It reduces yield of milk and weight of animals.
10.It causes irritation to eyes.
There is need for people and residents' welfare associations to put their heads together and declare a war on parthenium weed so that further growth in city areas could be checked. This will go a long way in the interest of the poor sufferers of asthma and other allergy-related disorders.

क्या मानव निर्मित है गंगा नदी ?

क्या मानव निर्मित है गंगा नदी ?

झारखण्ड के राजमहल मे है कुछ रहस्य ।

डा नीतिश प्रियदर्शी

ऐसा माना जाता है की गंगा नदी को पृथ्वी पर लाने का श्रेय रजा भगीरथ को जाता है। तो क्या गंगा नदी प्राचीन मानवों द्वारा निर्मित है ।

सत्रव्हीं शताब्दी मैं अंग्रेज शोधकर्ताओं द्वारा गंगा नदी के प्रवाह का विस्तृत सर्वे किया गया । इनमें प्रमुख थे कैप्टेन हर्बर्ट , रेनल , सर विलियम विल्कोक्स । उन्होनें गंगा नदी छेत्र का भूवैज्ञानिक सर्वे किया तथा पाया की गंगा प्राकृतिक न होकर मानवनिर्मित है ।

प्राचीन पुस्तक गंगावतरण मैं विस्तार से गंगा नदी के निर्माण का वर्णन है । इस पुस्तक के अनुसार इसको बनाने मैं पाँच राजाओं का योगदान है जिसकी शुरुआत रजा सागर, उनके ६०,००० पुत्र , उनके वंशज अंशुमन , राजा दिलीप तथा अंत मैं राजा भगीरथ जिन्होनें इस पवित्र नदी को समुद्र तक लाने मे सफलता पाई ।

राजा सागर जो उस वक्त हिमालय के गोमुख के पास भृगु ऋषि के आश्रम के पास तपस्या कर रहे थे , पाया की गंगोत्री के पास अथाह जल है तथा यदि इस हिमनद के जल को मैदानी छेत्र मे लाया जाय तो उनके राष्ट्र का कल्याण होगा । वैसे गंगा नदी को हिमालय से मैदानी छेत्रों मे लाने के पीछे कई पौराणिक कहानियाँ हैं।

राजा सागर के स्वप्नों को पुरा करने के लिये उनकें पुत्रों ने नहर बनाना शुरू किया जो धीरे धीरे पाताल लोक (दक्षिण की तरफ़ ) की तरफ बढ़ने लगा । जब वे झारखण्ड के राजमहल के छेत्र मे पहुंचे , तो शोध के अनुसार यहीं पर कपिल मुनि नामक साधू से उनका युद्ध हुआ तथा सारे सागर पुत्र भस्म हो गए ।

शोधानुसार , राजमहल के छेत्र का यदि भुवेज्ञानिक विश्लेषण करें तो पाएंगे की वहां ज्वालामुखी विस्फोट के अवशेष है। तो क्या सागर पुत्र जब नाहर खोदते हुए राजमहल पहुंचे तो वे ज्वालामुखी विस्फोट के चपेट आकर भस्म हो गए । किंतु इस तथ्य पर मतभेद हो सकता है क्योंकि राजमहल के ज्वालामुखी विस्फोट का समय जुरासिक काल का है और उस वक्त के मानव का अवशेष पृथ्वी पर नहीं पाया गया है । इसका मतलब है की कारण कुछ और था । हो सकता है की कुछ कारण वश गर्मी अचानक इतनी बढ़ गई की सागर पुत्र उसके चपेट मे आकर भस्म हो गए । आज अगर हम झारखण्ड के राजमहल छेत्र का विस्तार से भूवैज्ञानिक तथा भुभोतिकी शोध करें तो कई रहस्यों से परदा उठ सकता है।

झारखण्ड के जनजातियों के लेखों मैं कई बार अग्निवर्षा का जिक्र आता है तो क्या सागर पुत्र राजमहल मैं इस अग्निवर्षा के चपेट मैं आ गए ।

सागर पुत्रों के बाद उनकें पुत्रों मे से एक राजा अंशुमन ने इस कार्य को आगे तक ले गए ।

जब हिमालय से राजमहल तक गंगा नदी का रास्ता बन गया तो अब राजा भगीरथ ने गंगा नदी के जल को इस रास्ता से ले गए ।

जिस गंगा को लाने के लिये इतनी कोशिश की गई आज यही अंत होने जा रही है ।

Coals are best indicators of ancient climate

Coals are best indicators of ancient climate.

By

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
Palaeoclimatology, the study of climates during the geological past, is one of the most topical areas of research in the geosciences at present. The threat of future climate change caused by higher levels of greenhouse gases, which would drastically alter many aspects of our environment, has prompted much research to try to understand how our complex climate system works. Only by understanding how climate has evolved over million of years can we identify important climate cycles with a frequency in excess of the short climate records we possess. These climate cycles have the potential to have a profound effect on our environment.

Understanding our climate history in the geological past is also important for climatologists trying to construct accurate numerical computer models of our present climate system to use for predicting future climate change.

Basic information about past climates comes from understanding how climate influences certain sedimentary systems, floras and faunas on earth today and extrapolating this information back to interpret geological evidence.
The formation of some rock types is directly influenced by aspects of climate. Some of the most useful are coals, evaporates, glacial deposits and carbonates. I am presenting only a brief resume of coal as a paleoclimatic indicators.

Coal- climatically sensitive rock:

The presence of coal, initially formed from the accumulation of plant material as peat, is generally taken to indicate warm and wet humid climates ideal for lush plant growth, and where the rainfall is higher than the rate of evaporation, such as in equatorial regions. However, rainfall is more important factor than temperatures, as are high water tables and waterlogged swamps (mires) which are required to preserve the peat.
Coal seams are composed of genetic coal types which are determined to a certain extent by the character of the particular type of vegetation. A careful analysis of all the available data on geochemical, palynological and petrological constituents of the coals reveals that there existed distinctive types of vegetation associated with different peat types. The character and relation between the miospore assemblage and petrographic type reflect particular environment, topography and climatic conditions.
Pollen and spores commonly retain their morphological characteristics through all stages of coal formation. They bear specific relationship to the original geological and botanical setting.

In the past, the most abundant coal deposits were formed during the Carboniferous when large subsiding continental areas were situated in low latitudes and experienced hot and humid climates. The great Carboniferous forests were composed of the pithy-stemmed clubmosses and lycopods, such as Lepidodnedron, Sigillaria and Calamites, which grew to giant sizes in the hot wet conditions and formed thick layers of peat as they collapsed into waterlogged swamps. The disappearance or decrease in size of these water- loving plants at the end of the Carboniferous marked the onset of much drier conditions in low latitude regions during the Permian. Extensive forests dominated by glossopterid plants lived on all southern continents and their remains form extensive and some economically important and coal deposits today.

A discussion on depositional environment of Permian peat swamp phases may well be preceded by the remarks that, based on different analysis and support from geological setup, Karharbari, Barakar, and Raniganj Stages of Lower Gondwanas of India were climatically controlled. The climate during the Karharbari period was rather cold as evidenced by flora and by possible effects of glaciation in Talchir Series. On the contrary, climate during Barakar and Raniganj commenced with cool and humid climate gradually becoming warmer and humid as evidenced by flora and coal composition. Humidity seems to have recurred in some part of Raniganj Stage also.
In the early period of the Permian, coal formation took place under the relatively cold, humid, shallow water deposition mainly from arborescent vegetation.

Chemistry of Coal-bed and paleoclimate:

The chemical arguments for the interpretation of paleoclimate from coal beds come principally from the work of different geologists. Their work was partly in response to studies purporting to show that high-sulfur coals were influenced by marine sedimentation. They argued that peat that forms economic coal cannot form in seawater because ash and sulfur enrichment is too great there. Thus they concluded that all economic coals were originally freshwater peats. They further concluded that, if all economic coal beds were derived from freshwater peats, ash content must be indicative of climate, and they proposed the following model, which predicts three types of peat:
1. anaerobic (permanently waterlogged) peat with pH less than 4.5, which would give rise to low-ash, low-sulfur, vitrinite-rich coals;
2. anaerobic with pH greater than 4.5, which would give rise to high-ash, high-sulfur, liptinite-rich coals; and
3. intermittently aerobic peat, which would give rise to low-sulfur, moderately high-ash, inertinite-rich coals.
Boron element in coal as a Paleosalinity Indicator:
The concentration of boron in Australian and Canadian coals was determined in order to assess the variation of boron in coal with respect to rank, age, geological setting and the degree of paleosalinity of the coal forming environment. The boron content of seams is sensitive to the environment of deposition and may show the variation in the same seam laterally due to changes to the environment of deposition and /or the enrichment of boron by secondary source.
It is proposed that the following ranges of values for boron in coal indicate the degree of marine influence during the early stages of coalification:
1. up to 50 ppm (parts per million) boron- coal formed in a freshwater environment.
2. 50 to 110 ppm boron – coal formed in a mildly brackish water environment.
3. greater than 110 ppm boron- coal formed in a brackish water environment.
Coal petrography and paleoclimate:
Vitrinite-rich coal beds are generally regarded to have been deposited in wet conditions, usually meaning high water tables, especially if the coal beds have clay partings and inclusions of syngenetic pyrite . Inertinite-rich coal beds are generally regarded to have been deposited in dry conditions, usually meaning relatively low or fluctuating water tables.