North Bihar refers to the northern part of the Indian state of Bihar, lying to the north of the Ganga River. This region is known for its fertile Gangetic plains, cultural heritage, agricultural dominance, and emerging industries. It shares an international border with Nepal to the north and includes several important rivers like Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati, and Kamla, which are both a source of prosperity and recurrent floods.
The region primarily consists of alluvial plains, floodplains, and river basins, making it one of the most fertile areas in India. The Ganga River forms the southern boundary, while other major rivers include the Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, and Mahananda.
Districts of North Bihar
Districts of North Bihar – Area & Population (2011 Census)
North Bihar, spanning the fertile plains north of the Ganga river, remains a region deeply rooted in agriculture, while also showing signs of growing industrial diversification.
Industry
Muzaffarpur district and Begusarai are among the most industrialized districts of North Bihar. Muzaffarpur is often referred to as the "Capital of North Bihar" due to its economic, cultural, and administrative significance.
There are several rivers flowing through this region from north to south and merge in the Ganges river.[6] These rivers, along with floods, bring fertile soil to the region on a yearly basis. However, sometimes government sponsored floods[7] causes loss of thousands of lives. Major rivers of North Bihar are Mahananda, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati, Kamala, Balan, Budhi Gandak.[8]
Natural floods
Since the beginning of human civilization, rivers have been an important part of human life. North Bihar has 7 major rivers and several tributaries to them. North Bihar districts are vulnerable to at least five major flood-causing rivers during the monsoon – Mahananda River, Koshi River, Bagmati River, Burhi Gandak River and Gandak – which originate in Nepal.[9] All these rivers receive water from the Himalayas, so these rivers always have an adequate water supply. Every year, these rivers bring valuable floods for the people of North Bihar. Flood waters used to enter the agricultural land, leave their quite fertile silt and recede to the river. This pattern of humane flood was beneficial for North Bihar, making the land perfectly fertile. However, there are no more natural floods as of today.
Man-made floods
Soon after independence, the Congress Government of Bihar made several attempts to domesticate these rivers. High barriers or Bandhs were made on their both banks. This resulted in inhumane and destructive floods. Bandhs caused deposition of silts in the bottom of rivers, because of which, depth of rivers decreased, and so their water holding capacity also decreased. This is the reason these rivers bring more frequent floods now. With flood water, sand comes in force and gets deposited on the land. This way the land of the region in turning barren. Floods, once a boon for North Bihar, has now become a curse.
Kosi flood 2008,
2008 Kosi flood
Flooded North Bihar
Date
18 August 2008
Location
North Bihar
Deaths
434[10] (Dead bodies were found until 27 November 2008)
The 2008 Kosi flood was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of North Bihar, an impoverished and densely populated region in India. A breach in the Kosi embankment near the Indo-Nepal border (at Kusha in Nepal) occurred on 18 August 2008. The river changed course and inundated areas which were not flooded in decades.[11] The flood affected over 2.3 million people in North Bihar.[12]
The flood killed 250 people and forced nearly 3 million people from their homes in North Bihar.[13] More than 300,000 houses were destroyed and at least 340,000 hectares (840,000 acres) of crops were damaged.[13] Villagers in North Bihar ate raw rice and flour mixed with polluted water. Hunger and disease were widespread. The Supaul district was the worst-hit; surging waters swamped 1,000 square kilometers (250,000 acres) of farmlands, destroying crops.[14]
The 2017 North Bihar Floods affected 19 districts of North Bihar causing death of 514 people.[15][16][17][18][19] This flood was result of sudden increase in water discharge through the Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, Kosi and Mahananda Rivers due to heavy rain in the catchment areas of the major rivers of north Bihar in Nepal.[20]Araria district accounted for 95 deaths alone,[21] followed by Sitamarhi (34), West Champaran (29), Katihar (26), East Champaran (19) while 22 have died in Madhubani, Supaul (13) and Madhepura (15). 11 deaths were reported in Kishanganj, while Darbhanga accounted for 19 deaths, Purnea (9), Gopalganj (9), Sheohar (4), Muzaffarpur (7), Samastipur (1) and Saharsa (4) registered four deaths each while Khagaria and Saran accounted for 7 deaths each. Nowadays, around 1.71 people on average are affected by floods alone.[22][23][24][25]
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