As poll campaign heats up, parties remain silent on Bihar’s dying rivers

Amid Bihar’s ongoing election campaign, a critical issue remains ignored. That of the alarming depletion of rivers and rampant illegal sand mining. These rivers—integral to the state’s ecology and culture, especially during the grand Chhath festival—are drying up, while political discourse stays silent.

This year too devotees in Gopalganj gathered along rivers like Ghoghari, Dhamai and Sahya for Chhath rituals only to find the once flowing waters reduced to barren riverbeds. The Kav river in Buxar dried up in October, barely weeks after the monsoon ended. The Jamuari in Samastipur, which was once 150 meters wide, is unrecognisable now, clogged with mud and silt, its flow stifled by an ill-placed sluice gate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah addressed election rallies in recent weeks and months at Samastipur, Buxar and Gopalganj. They sent their best wishes to the people on Chhath but skipped any mention of the dying rivers. Local leaders did not raise the issue, there were no protest rallies and environment activists could not engage with the leaders, deepening the disconnect.

The excessive silt build up and illegal sand mining affects not just the small rivers but also several major ones like the Kosi, Gandak and the Ganga. State audits and drone surveys have documented these problems, but reports remain unaddressed and enforcement is weak. A 2021 CAG report revealed widespread illegal mining using unauthorized vehicles. This did not stop, in fact it increased year on year, despite hundreds of thousands of challans being issued.

In 2024, the National Green Tribunal too had ordered an investigation into illegal sand mining in the Sone and Ganga river-basins. In 2025, an environmental audit report published by the Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited acknowledged the twin threats of silt and sand mining.

The state government also commissioned an investigation by OCO-Enviro Management Solutions and Cognizance Research India Private Limited, which pointed out that excessive sand mining in many areas was depressing the river beds, leading to lower water levels and drought. Like other reports, this too seems to have been shelved.

Of all these reports, the 2021 CAG report had received widespread media attention, and yet the government chose to ignore it. The report, tabled in the Assembly in December 2022, revealed that as per government’s records sand was transported from rivers using ambulances, cars, auto-rickshaws even motorbikes in 18 districts,.

The report stated that “according to available satellite images, mining was found at 20 out of 24 ghats in Patna, 28 out of 36 in Bhojpur, and 16 out of 26 in Rohtas”. Bihar's Accountant General (Audit), Ramavtar Sharma, even admitted at a press conference in Patna on 18 December 2022 that “we found illegal mining at all the ghats we studied. Illegal mining is increasing every year. Mining is being done without environmental permits. Unauthorised vehicles are being used to transport gravel.”

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Over the past two decades, Bihar’s rapid bridge-building has further worsened the situation. Nearly 1,900 bridges have been built, with thousands more approved. Construction debris and pillars embedded in riverbeds have eroded depths, leaving rivers vulnerable to floods and drying. Though huge volumes of water flow into the Ganga daily, siltation and shrinking channels limit absorption, leading to floods and degradation. Dried beds have become dumping grounds or are encroached upon for farming and settlements, further straining the ecosystems.

Rivers drying out in early autumn should worry both Bihar and Jharkhand. It is a matter of concern that a large volume of water is being allowed to flow through the Ganga into the Bay of Bengal and goes ‘wasted’ and unutilised. This applies to all other rivers of north and south Bihar that flow into the Ganga. Way back in 2016, the Union-government appointed Chitale Committee recommended improved water flow, drainage and dredging, alongside protection against encroachment. None of these have been implemented. Today, 29 rivers in Bihar continue to shrink, with islands forming and rivers shifting courses.

In the 19th century, more than 6,000 rivers flowed through Bihar and the present-day Jharkhand. This number is down to 600 now. Poor waste management worsens the crisis. Local bodies lack funds and expertise, resorting to dumping waste in rivers. Public awareness remains low, allowing pollution to escalate unchecked.

Politicians are trusted to govern and find solutions to the problems that affect people and their lives. The record, however, speaks poorly of the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state, which has been at the helm for almost 20 years. Ample time to address these threats. Political silence during elections reflects a troubling disconnect from urgent environmental and community concerns.

As rivers that hold sacred and cultural significance vanish, Bihar faces an ecological and social crisis. Without urgent action, the state risks losing its rivers—lifelines of its people and heritage.

(Views are personal)