978 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
393
*** Grant of Money for Taming River Kosi** in Bihar
734. Shri Satya Narayan Sinha : (a) Is the Honourable the Labour Member aware that the Governor General, during his last tour of Bihar, had flown to the area devastated by the vagaries of the river Kosi and that he was so much impressed with the pitiable situation obtaining there that he decided to move the Central Government for granting an adequate amount for taming the river and thus to save the lives and properties of the millions of the people concerned ? If so, what is being done in that regard ?
(b) Has any project been made ready ? If not, what steps are being taken to expedite the matter which concerns the question of life and death for millions of people ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) The Governor General during a recent tour did fly over the area devastated by the Kosi floods and did cause a communication to be sent to the Labour Department emphasising the importance of controlling the river as early as possible.
(b) The Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission are conducting the investigations. They have with the permission of the government of Nepal started aerial and ground surveys and the geological and hydrological investigations for the purpose. Investigation is being conducted with a view to planning the control of the Kosi by means of a storage dam in the Nepal Himalayas. Such dam will not only store surplus flood water and the large volumes of coarse silt carried by it and so prevent the damage at present caused by Kosi floods but it is hoped will also provide water for perennial irrigation of an area estimated at 3 million in both Nepal and Bihar and also will offer opportunities for the generation of cheap hydroelectric power. The investigation is being treated as one of high priority.
- Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. III of 1946, 6th March 1946, p. 1949.