Bihar Trail Day - 3

Third day of the Bihar trail began as early as 5:00 in the morning, when we started our long journey towards the Saharsa district of Bihar to visit the third case study. The ten hours long journey was made interesting with sightseeing stops at River Budhi Gandak and Bhagmati-Kosi sangam.

At 1500 hours we arrived at the ashram of Kosi Seva Sadan where we were joyfully welcomed by the entire team. Located some 7-8 km from the Saharsa town, the ashram is a beautiful green campus housing the technologies promoted by Kosi Seva Sadan under the Megh Pyne Abhiyan.

In his welcome note, Mr. Rajendra Jha, Secretary, Kosi Seva Sadan, shared with the participants the genesis and ideology of Kosi Seva Sadan. Briefing about the Megh Pyne Abhiyan, Mr. Rajendra shared that it was an initiative collectively launched by five NGOs in 2006 to work on the issues of water with special focus on the rain water harvesting. Kosi Seva Sadan is one of member organizations of Megh Pyne Abhiyan working in five Gram Panchayats of Saharsa district.

A welcome song was also sung by students of surrounding villages that touched heart of almost everyone present there. These students are trained by the organization for community mobilization and awareness generation through singing of songs. After the welcome note and song, George from Development Alternatives thanked the team of Kosi Seva Sadan and shared with them the genesis and objectives of Lok Awas Yatra. Mr. Prem Kumar Jha from SAMATA explained in detail the situation of rivers and floods in the districts of North Bihar and the need for intervention in these areas.

After the welcome and addresses by key persons, lunch was served by the KSS team, which was the best we had so far.

A guided tour of the KSS campus was taken by the participants to see the various technologies being developed and promoted by the KSS in the water and sanitation sector. These included matka filter, permanent filter, jal kothi (rain water harvesting structure), and faydemand shauchalaya (EcoSan). The implementation of these technologies and their impact was seen in the Pokharbinda village of Telhar Panchayat in the Saharsa district. The participants were very convinced by the EcoSan model and the concept of jal kothis.

While leaving the village at 6:30 in the evening we realized the village is still not electrified. Finding our way through the dark village roads we reached Supaul at 2000 hours, had food and retired early to recharge ourselves for a long day in store the next morning.     
The Second day of the trail started at 0700 hrs , as we stepped out in the vibrant land of Sunderbans. Along with the representatives from Sabuj Sangha (SS), the vanguard of community village development in the area, we visited the village of Mohabbat Nagar, where 50 disaster (flood /cyclone) resistant and cost effective houses have been constructed for the “Poorest of the Poor and migrant families. Enthused as we took our boat to the Aila hit island of Kuemuri, we were introduced to few other households who had been supported by SS for disaster resistant housing and  poultry based alternate livelihood option. We also visited the  Technology park run by SS showcasing vermi-composting, Surface water treatment systems, upgraded agricultural techniques towards low water consumption, integrated farming system, Roof top Rain water harvesting and various models of toilets. We also visited the water and sanitation project spearheaded by the organization.

SS also runs educational institutions, SHGs, community centres and health initiatives in the region. The NGO has also facilitated access to the subsidy provided by the state govt. for installation of solar based electricity in several households in the village.

The day ended with a passionate exchange of ideas with Mr. Anshuman Das, Director, SS. The initiative and linkages with various govt. schemes, integrated approach to development, and future strategies towards climate change mitigation and adaptation were also discussed by the group.

We thanked Sabuj Sangha for their support and very open sharing of their experiences of working on sustainable habitat solutions in the Sunderbans Delta. The night is beautiful and the sea breeze simply breathtaking. Tomorrow we will be dwelling deeper into the issues of climate change and sustainable habitat with colleagues from GOAL and their partners and friends in Kolkatta.

The walk back to SS Guest house was not easy, the islands are confronted with multiple challenges posed by the changing climate – water table is dropping, floods are increasing, rivers are changing course, cyclones are severe, land masses are disappearing, rainfall pattern has become erratic, and agriculture is affected by saline water ingress in some areas; the already marginalized communities are now further vulnerable. There are no easy answers, the complex socio-economic and climatic vulnerabilities of the people will require actionable strategies at many levels. Technological solutions, policy advocacy and network support may be the small contributions that we could make…the islands need more of us to engage with their cause.