I was introduced to the floods of the Koshi River while pursuing my Master’s in Political Science at the University of Delhi. In 2017, when electronic media reported on flood disasters, I contacted Koshi Navnirman Manch, a people’s movement working with individuals living within and outside the embankments along the river in Bihar.i Through the Manch, I provided support to the flood victims. I have faint memories of people saying unpleasant things about the lives of people living within the embankments. After getting in touch with Koshi Navnirman Manch, I decided to write a term paper on the Koshi River floods as a part of my Master’s program. In the process, I was introduced to writing on the Koshi floods by  Dinesh Mishra,  Rajiv Sinha, and other scholars. Subsequently, I decided to pursue a PhD on the Koshi River floods.

Improving participation and representation of people at risk are key to make transboundary interactions on flood early warning systems more effective. Because floods have strong upstream-downstream linkages, an early warning system can significantly reduce losses in the downstream areas by providing early information and allowing for pre-emptive actions.

The agency of the state with its power of authority, including that to regulate the market, must better coordinate external support and enhance community efforts, and improve the scale and integrity of adaptive efforts as the climate change crisis rages

South Asia is in its peak monsoon season, and floods are increasingly becoming grave threats to the region’s population.

Flood disasters are outcomes of excessive control over water, over people, over money, and over political power.

EWSs should aim to integrate the concerns of local people and be inclusive of gender, cultural, linguistic, and other social aspects.

The waterscape that I lived in between my graduation in mid-1980 and the present will be radically different from the waterscape that is likely to emerge between 2021 and 2050.

We must find ways to better understand our local realities before proceeding to present a grand proposal of development.

Research agencies and the government departments need to communicate regularly and use the knowledge to minimise hazard risks to the people.