Several years ago I was in India as consultant to that government concerning a flood-control project on the Kosi River in the State of Bihar. The Kosi originates near Mount Everest and emerges from the Himalayas to flow southward for nearly a hundred miles across the Ganges plain. It is a braided river with an ill-defined channel consisting of many distributaries wandering around myriad islands in an unsystematic way. Owing to the fact that the Kosi has moved laterally across its low-angle fan about 75 miles in a hundred years it has progressively devastated by flooding large areas of agricultural land.
The Indian government has chosen as the most practical way to alleviate the flood damage, the construction of levees separated by a distance of about nine miles and confining the river through most of the course of its plain.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 1965 |
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Title | Comprehensive planning and the dragon to slay |
Authors | Luna Bergere Leopold |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Sierra Club Bulletin |
Index ID | 70187528 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |