DanChurchAid

Dansk version

Tip a friend Print Enlarge text Minimize text

Bangladesh

Rebuilding homes after Kosi floods in Bihar

20.05.2010: 55-year-old Mangli Devi is happy to have a new home. The old one was lost in the devastating Kosi floods of 2008. In the times to follow Mangli was able to rebuild her home and life with the support given by DCA. This is her story.

Mangli Devi ( blue saree) sits with the other tribal women of her community in her new home.

It is difficult to imagine that so much water could accumulate so fast. Our village and fields were like sea; for miles and miles there was only water.

Our utensils, grains everything were carried away by the current. Two of my goats were also lost.

It was dark when the flood waters came in and we all panicked.

Never seen floods

I have stayed here for more than 30 years and never seen floods. We did hear people talking about the breach in the dam, but how were we to know that the river was coming for us?

Traditional aesthetic drawings on the wall of her Mangli’s new home.

We didn’t take the warning seriously because we never imagined that the river water could come so far inside. Although Kosi is notorious for floods the water has never reached so far into our hamlet.

Walls caved in

The water was 3 feet high with strong winds lashing out against our simply built houses. Within a few hours the walls of my house collapsed. We ran for our lives. There was a lot of jostling and rushing as everyone ran for a safe higher ground.

Grains collected in heap inside Mangli’s home with seed support from ECHO-CASA-DCA.

Nobody knew where to go and what to do and we were all so scared.

Recovering from losses

The flood water lasted many days and we slowly returned to our homes. We had no work as the fields of our landlord were inundated for months. It was then that some people from the NGO’s came to our help. They gave us clothes to wear, utensils and food.

In the days to follow, they brought us all together to form a Village Development Committee (VDC). My house was completely destroyed and the VDC nominated my name as a beneficiary for the re-construction and raising of my house.

Building new homes

I am very happy with my new home. I along with my husband and son built it on our own with help from DCA's partner CASA and with money from the EU-donor ECHO.

About the floods:
The Kosi River Floods of 2008 affected 4 million people in the plain. Large tracts of land continue to be heavily affected by sand casting in 2010.

My new home is raised 4 feet above ground. This ensure that the water will not enter my home, even if there is another flood. Also the bamboo roof and the reinforcements give my home strength to stand up to strong winds. I can also carry them from one place to another.

I am now trying to build a raised platform inside my home where I will keep my valuable documents stored. I will also plant trees around my house as it will give me protection against natural disasters.

By Priyanka Mukherjee Mittal
Regional Information and Documentation Officer, DanChurch Aid, India

Where we are:
Mangli Devi is a resident of the adivasi tola (tribal hamlet) in Tekuna Panchayat of Pratapganj block in Bihar, northeastern part of India

Who we are:
DCA’s partner in the region, CASA, has constructed 515 transit shelters using locally available resources - like bamboo posts, CGI sheets, bamboo mats etc.