More than 35 rivers completely dry up in Bihar heatwave

Officials said rivers including Bagmati in Buxar, Chandan in Banka, Gandak in Gopalganj-Kuchaikot, Panchane, Chiraiyan and Paimar in Nalanda and Tilaiyya in Nawada-Hisua have dried up. While rivers including Jeewachh Dhaar, Kamla Balan, Kamla Dhaar and Tisbharwa in Darbhanga, Durgawati, Karmanasa, Kodra in Kaimur, Falgu in Jehanabad and Lakhandei in Muzaffarpur have water below the sur

According to the report, the water level is also falling in some other rivers in the state. In parts of Bihar, the day temperature soared to a high of 45.9 degrees Celsius, with officials saying the state experienced its longest heat spell in 11 years.

Officials say these rivers have become shallow and narrow due to siltation, and structural encroachment can be seen on land in the riverbed.

“More than 200 concrete structures can be seen in the Panchane river bed area at Chandi Mau in Nalanda. Much of the river began to dry up during the summer due to silt and trash a few years ago. The land grabbers saw it as an opportunity and instead of rejuvenating the river, they turned the river bed into a construction site,” said Neeraj Kumar, who is campaigning for river restoration under the banner of Panchane Nadi Bachao Abhiyan Samiti. .

Recently, villagers organized themselves at Chandi Mau Nalanda, the 'Pani Panchayat' and discussed their problems with Indian water conservationist and environmentalist Rajendra Singh, he added.

"Encroachments and decades of silt were considered the two main reasons for the Panchana's poor condition." Encroachments must be removed and the river must be desilted,” Kumar said. “But this is not only about Panchana, most of the rivers in the state which are now in bad condition have been going through similar problems,” Kumar said.

Concerned about the state of rivers in the state, Rajeev Rajan, an environmentalist who has been distributing plants for free to schools in rural areas for a decade, said the drying up of rivers in the state is a bad sign.