The issue of flooding in India and story of Gorakhpur city
The most common and the recurring natural hazard in my country(India) is floods. Floods are not uncommon, then have happened in the past but what is currently troubling India is the frequency and intensity of these floods. Almost every year some part of the country records floods. This year many states in India saw widespread flooding, hills states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh saw flooding and the plains including Bihar and Punjab also saw floods. The situation worsened in Punjab as 22 out of 23 districts were forced to deal with a flood like situation. Several hill states also saw a number of cloud bursts. Several environmental activists pointed out that climate change had worsened the situation and increased the intensity of the floods. India water portal also said on their website that regions once safe from floods have now become prone to flash floods, because warmer air holds more water so when it rains we see more heavy downpours.
The official website of Natural Disaster Management of India says that out of the total 329 million hectares of land more than 40 million hectares of land is vulnerable to floods. Most areas of northern India which lie in the gangetic plain are prone to floods due to the presence of a high number of rivers. A study by IITD and IIT Roorkee noted that among the 30 districts facing highest risk of floods 17 are located in the ganga plains. 3 are brahmaputra plains. In the urban areas, often several poor people live illegally on the banks of the rivers, when it floods these illegal settlements.
Many such people are pushed into permanent poverty traps. Another community are the farmers, they are worst affected by floods, when rains become unpredictable farmers are not able to plan for their crops.High intensity rains/ rains continuing for a large period are often responsible for floods. These high intensity rains significantly reduce the crop yield.
Many cities are coming up with innovative solutions to this problem. I would like to highlight how coordinated work by the government and a NGO in the gorakhpur city has improved the situation. The gorakhpur environmental action group(GEAG) began working with farmers, on the periphery of the city, their aim was to increase the income of farmers so that they do not feel pressured to sell their land to corporates. The farmers adopted techniques such as crop rotation, adopted organic farming practices, these practices boosted income and farmers yields grew by 33%. The NGO also realized the flooding was being caused by clogged drains. So they worked with many slums and improved the waste disposal practices so that the nearby water bodies and slums could be protected.