THE Kosi is often called Bihar's "river of sorrow" as it has a* I propensity to create displacement and despair for millions I regularly. But what if the misery and devastation was more a result of human folly rather than the river's fury? The floods this year have inundated 16 districts in the state and displaced 29 lakh people. As details emerge, it is becoming increasingly clear that gross indifference and mismanagement of the Kosi and its known dangers, both by the state government in Patna as well as the Centre, is what led to the calamity. Factor into this India's poor diplomatic handling of river management issues with Nepal and the recipe for disaster was complete (see accompanying story). So where did the Kosi script go wrong? Annually, before the onset of the monsoon, maintenance work is undertaken at the Kusaha barrage and embankment on the Kosi, which falls on the Nepal side. This year, field officers of the Bihar government pointed out that additional checks along the embankment needed to be construeted. But this demand was rejected. Outlook has learnt that the Kosi High-Level Committee (khlc) refused to allow the construction of three studs, a crucial additional check against overflows. They were to be built between the 12.8 km and 12.9 km section of the embankment where the actual breach occurred. The khlc is a multilateral entity with members from the Bihar and Nepal governments, the Central Water Commission, Delhi, and the Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune. But it's headed by the chairman of the Ganga Flood Control Commission (gfcc), a body under the Union water resources ministry. It is entrusted with the task of inspecting the damage caused to embankments by the preceding season of floods and recommending repair works. While field officers had asked for repair works requiring a financial input of Rs 35 lakh for the breached section, what was sanctioned by the khlc was a paltry Rs 4 lakh. As if playing tit for tat, the state government too was equally indifferent to the gfcc. Between April 1 and June 12 this year, three letters were written by H.S. Choudhary, director (coordination) with the gfcc, to the engineer-in-chief (north) of the Bihar government asking for a progress report on the protective measures against a possible flood. All three letters, copies of which are with Outlook, went unanswered. The distribution of responsibilities is a messy one