CPI(ML) Liberation State Secretary Kunal expressed solidarity with the ongoing collective hunger strike at Benibad in Gaighat block of Muzaffarpur district, which has continued since February 16 against the forced construction of embankments on the Bagmati river. He said that embankment construction in the name of flood control will prove disastrous for Bihar and demanded that all construction work be halted immediately until the government-appointed review committee submits its report.
Kunal stated that under the present embankment plan nearly 120 villages in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Samastipur districts will fall inside the embankment zone. This will lead to the displacement of thousands of families and the destruction of thousands of acres of fertile agricultural land. He said that the issue is not only about environmental destruction and loss of livelihood but also about social justice and the rights of the people of the region.
He recalled that in 2017, under pressure from people’s movements and river experts, the Nitish Kumar government had constituted a review committee and declared that no embankment construction would take place until the committee submitted its report. However, eight years have passed and the committee has neither been provided with adequate resources nor allowed to function effectively. Instead, the administration has repeatedly attempted to push through construction work with the help of police force while filing false cases against activists leading the movement.
Kunal said that the hunger strike at Benibad represents a collective warning from the people of the Bagmati region. The government must stop imposing the project through repression and police action and instead adopt the path of dialogue and scientific review. The review committee must consult local residents, farmers’ organisations and experts and submit its report on that basis before any further decision is taken.
CPI(ML) Liberation has placed the following demands before the government:
1. All embankment construction on the Bagmati river must be halted until the review committee submits its report.
2. The review committee must be provided with necessary resources and made functional, and a representative of the Bagmati Sangharsh Morcha must be included in it.
3. Proper rehabilitation of displaced people and adequate compensation for acquired land must be guaranteed in areas where embankments have already been built.
4. A scientific and effective drainage system must be developed for flood control.
5. Adequate bridges must be constructed on the Bagmati river to ensure connectivity and support economic activity in the region.
Kunal said that the flood crisis in Bihar cannot be resolved simply through embankment construction. The state urgently needs a long term and scientific water management policy that places the natural flow of rivers, drainage systems, local ecology and people’s livelihoods at its centre. He warned that if the government continues to ignore the voice of the people, the movement against the destructive embankment project will intensify.
