The flood is one of the enemies of mankind it causes damage to life and property. There are some perennial rivers in which floods regularly occur every year. There are some rivers which are mostly dry or have water only during rainy days. Even they are in spate once in a decade and cause a lot of destruction. Flood control is a necessity. India has many rivers. Some of them are perennial while the other are not. The ganges, narmada,sutlej, jamuna, kosi, krishna, godavari and the cauvery, tambrabharani are perennial. Every year floods appear in the ganges, her tributaries like the Padma, the Brahmaputra and the Kosi and cause a lot of devastation and loss of life and property.

The flood is caused by the monsoon and the heavy rains brought by it. the river is in spate, The flood corrodes the banks and the water overflows the banks. It destroys the huts and the houses on the banks. It also destroys the crops in the fields adjacent to the river. it carries away everything that comes in its way- men ,women,children,cattle, articles and plants. The country's economy is very much affected. The silt along the course of the river is also a cause of floods.

Many flood-affected people are offered shelter at the near by schools and public buildings. They are helped to come to shore by boats. Free food and clothes are offered to them. The government offers some money to help them to meet their expenses during the flood. Students and social workers help them to come to the banks and collect flood reliefs fund and clothes from the public.

Flood relief is given to the people affected by the floods. Thousands of crores of rupees are spent on flood-relief and on rebuilding. Steps are taken to control floods. Afforestation of the lands prone to flood-ravages will check the floods and reduce the damages. As soon as the monsoon begins and new waters appear in the river , the water can be trapped in underground artesian basins. That water can be utilized for summer irrigation. The  hydro-electrical power stations at the himalayas help in this matter. They also help in the afforestation of the catchment areas and the generation of cheap but plenty of hydel power. Huge dams are build across the rivers where the floods begin to grow fierce and violent. The water thus detained by the dams can be used for irrigation and for the production of electricity. By constructing dams in the suitable places along the course of a long and perennial river, the flood can be controlled, the damages and destruction averted and, water and hydel power can be secured. These things are done for the ganges and the Brahmaputra by the joint rivers commission and the central government of India in collaboration with Nepal.

In the second five year plan enough allotment was made for the construction of embankments, channel improvement etc. In the sixth five year plan also nearly Rs.1800 crores was spent out to protect about 14 million hectares against floods,. The money spent on flood control is not a waste. It can be recovered through what is protected and what is protected and what can be put to use again for production , namely, life , property and arable lands.

The occasional, unexpected floods in the non-perennial rivers also cause a lot of destruction. No precautionary  measures can be taken to prevent it. Depending the rivers and constructing two or three feet high dams along their courses during a dry season may help a lot. River waters should never be allowed to go a waste. The flood, meant to be a boon, is allowed to be a dangerous monster to harm the people and their property. the temporary flood-relief giving the shape of currency notes may be a reason for the general apathy to the actual undertaking of the measures to control floods and to make the  non-perennial rivers perennial.

Thank you,

R,Rajkumar.