**3. Glimpses of the tragedy**

The history of flooding in the region goes back in the deep past. In the known history the region has been gravely affected by flooding from 1922 to 1925. 1946, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1961 and 1963 were also the year of flooding, but the flooding of 1969 was much more devastative than previous years. 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983 were also the year of tragedy. In the year of 1983, the sudden release of water from Girija Bairaj of Nepal caused severe damage to the region, while this was not the year of heavy rainfall. Hundreds of people died due to the sudden release of water without any prior information. 1986, 87 and 1988 were not untouched by the flood. In the year 1990 flood-affected a few pockets of the region. In the year 1991, there was no flood, but the Ghaghara river induced soil erosion. Again, in the year 1992 floods made a catastrophe. In the year 1993, it broke the previous records. The

*Natural Hazards - Impacts, Adjustments and Resilience*

restoring the livelihood of disaster-displaced people [8].

**2. Reviewing livelihood and disaster**

meaning of the terms can be understood.

illiteracy, poor economic opportunities and so on [10].

while in the year of 2016 it reached to INR 57291.098 crore. The most vulnerable states to flood are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Gujrat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam account for 17 percent of India's geographical area but disproportionately account for 43–52 percent of all flood-prone areas of the country [2].

Iwasaki [3] has reported that, these floods or cyclones severely squeezed people's livelihood. It affects the traditional economic base of the family that changes the family's main source of income [4]. Sina et al. [5] mentioned that, displacement due to flood is a major challenge of restoring the livelihood which needs timely assessment in building resilience in livelihoods. The aid packages are usually short-term fulfill of the needs of the victims but rarely focus the long-term revival of their livelihoods. The current institutional mechanisms are lagging behind the large-scale post-disaster reconstruction [6]. These frequent occurrence of floods have caused a blow to the livelihood resilience of the poor and marginalized sections [7]. The severity of the disaster can be reduced with the help of local and national commitments [3] along with the intervention of livelihood diversification programs in the flood affected area [3]. Along with this, social cohesion is playing a pivotal role for

Bahraich (part of eastern Uttar Pradesh) is one of the districts which have been under the regular influence of flood for decades, but in recent years, an alarming increase in the devastation can be visited in the region. It has serious repercussions, such as displacement, migration, poverty, hunger, unemployment, diseases, and many more issues. People are compelled to accept the tragedy of their life and trying

to compromise themselves with the unfortunate socio-economic condition.

**Livelihood**: the term 'livelihood' as a systematic study developed from basically the rural studies, since then it has been used in various dimensions in academia. The conventional meaning of the term is an economic activity, while in fact, apart from the economic aspect it comprises a wide range of issues such as ecological, political, cultural, environmental and so forth. The formal analysis of the term can be given as "a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (both natural & social) and activities required for a means of living; a livelihood is sustainable which can cope with the recovery from and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base" [9]. This analysis primarily consists of three concepts: capability, equity and sustainability; and these are interconnected and interdependent in its proper implication. Scholars emphasize the relationship as "each is also both and means…. linked together, capabilities, equity and sustainability present a framework or paradigm for development thinking which is both normative and practical" [9]. Here, through separate descriptions, the core

**Capability**: in the developmental studies this was firstly used and systematically studied by Amartya Sen as a theoretical foundation to understand human development, he maintains that income, utilities, resources, and wealth act as means towards an end not an end in themselves, further he states that development should be understood as the removal of major barriers to our freedom like poverty,

**Equality**: the traditional method of measuring the equity has been concerned with only relative distribution of income, while it keeps a vast meaning like property, opportunity and capability; and avoids discrimination on any ground [9].

**70**

<sup>3</sup> *World Health Organization, 2002*. World Disaster Report.

year 1998 was also the year of flood due to the sudden release of water by Nepal. The year of 2000 multiplied the pain of the region. Gopiya Bairaj of Nepal released water and hundreds of people died and thousands of displaced. In the last few decades, dozens of villages have been physically disappeared and the population is displaced by the flood and many more are under threat of disaster. A few of the examples of the villages that are already collapsed in recent decades or under the process are given below:

