India will raise the issue of Saptkoshi river with Nepal which causes flood in Bihar every year, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati said today.
Bharati said this at the 17th meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Council attended by ministers and officials of 11 states here.
The assurance to take up the matter with Nepal came after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar drew attention that the Saptkoshi river project issue between India and Nepal was pending for long.
"Due to rivers of Nepal, Bihar has to face tragedy of floods every year," Kumar said according to an official statement of the state government.
Bharati said the Ganga Flood Control Council was established in 1972 and its head office would remain here, while asking the participating ministers for suggestions on how to make it more effective.
The Union Water Resources Minister said a solution was being found to the perennial flood problem in Bihar as the inter-linking of rivers plan was being contemplated to transform destructive face of rivers into beneficial ones.
In his speech, Kumar stressed on construction of multipurpose dams in Nepal which would help control floods in Bihar.
Nepal would also benefit from the multipurpose dams by generating hydro energy from them, he said.
On river Ganga, Kumar emphasised on cleanliness of its water as well regular water flow.
"It's a matter of research as to how much water of river Ganga is reaching to Varanasi from its original point at Gangotri," he said, drawing attention of the Union Minister on the need for a policy on silt management of the Ganga.
Ministers and officials from Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi also participated in the council meeting.
