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Name: Dinesh Kumar Mishra
DOB: 22nd. July 1946, (Village-Mubarakpur, Dist.- Azamgarh- UP, India.)
Address: D-29 Vasundhara Estate, PO: MGMC, NH-33, Jamshedpur 831018,
Jharkhand, India
Phone: 091-657- 6574059
Mobile: +91-9431303360
E-mail: dkmishra108@gmail.com
Educational Qualifications: B.Sc.(1964), Agra University
B.Tech.(Hons.)- Civil Engg. IIT Kharagpur, India-1968.
M.Tech. Structural Engg. IIT Kharagpur, India-1970
Ph.D. University of South Gujarat, Surat, India-2006.
Membership- Fellow of Institution of Engineers (India).
Awards/ Fellowships- I was awarded a fellowship from Ashoka Innovators of Public for three years starting
1999.
My book, ‘ Boya Per Babool Ka’ was chosen as one of the best books written over the subject of environment by
the Ministry of Forest and Environment, Government of India, 2002.
I was a member of the Dams And Development Forum of UNEP and represented Project Affected People there
during 2003-07.
I am a member of the Working Group on Flood Control and Water Logging of the Planning Commission of India to
review the progress made in eleventh Five Year Plan and make recommendations for the Twelfth.
Languages known: Hindi, English, Bangla, Oriya and Urdu - All speaking/W/R.
Professional Background: As a professional structural engineer, I have been responsible for the design and
supervision of various prestigious structures like University buildings, Townships, Cinema Halls, Schools,
and Hospitals and so on from 1970 to 1984 as an independent consultant.
Since 1984, I am engaged in the study of floods, waterlogging and irrigation and these studies have
special emphasis to the northern Gangetic plains of Bihar. India’s flood control policy revolves mainly
around embankments and that has caused severe environmental problems. The maintenance of such
structures is in the hands is indifferent technocracy which does not take cognizance of the fact that
investment in the flood control sector is doing more harm than good. Rising flood prone area of the
country is a pointer to that.
I have excellent contacts at the grass root level in Bihar and also in other parts of the flood prone states
of the country as well as in Nepal and Bangladesh. I am documenting the major rivers of north Bihar, their
history, the cultural aspects of the rivers and relationship with the rivers and the settlers along the rivers,
and the impact of the modern flood control interventions on the rivers and the society. There is a wide
range of aspects that need to be looked into afresh like agriculture, non-farm employment, migration,
health, education, and access to civic amenities etc. It is indeed intriguing that reciprocal inaccessibility
of the flooded areas during the peak season and prolonged waterlogging during the peace-time has not
attracted the imagination of most of the responsible people. I am trying to learn from the people, their
perception of the problem and take it up with those in power while keeping in touch with the people about
the probable official intervention. I am trying to raise the floods and waterlogging issue at the state and
national level.
I have written a fairly good number of articles and books (ref. Encl.) on the flood issue (mostly of Bihar)
and have participated in various debates over the subject ranging from affected villages to the Planning
Commission of India as well as at international level.
I have also encouraged many organizations to take up the issue of floods and waterlogging in their
respective river basins, in Bihar and other states as well, and they are carrying on their works. Besides, I
have encouraged many groups to take up drainage woks of small chaurs (land depressions) and resume
agriculture on the land that emerges out of water. I provide them with basic technical details and help
them executing the work. This has shown very encouraging results and one need not wait for heavily
budgeted drainage schemes to be taken up by the Irrigation Departments.
I have helped producing a documentary film on the Bihar Floods titled Dui Paatan Ke Beech Mein
(Between the Devil and the Deep Sea) by Arvind Sinha. This film won the best non-feature film award for
the year 1999 given by the President of India. I have helped another agency (Moving Images- New Delhi)
to make a film on floods, titled 'The River Taming Mantras' (2002) that covers the entire Ganga-
Brahmaputra basin. This film was awarded the best documentary award in Vatavaran Film Festival, Delhi
in 2005. I was a part of the team for a documentary 'Water' sponsored by Films Division and directed by
Urmi Chakraborty of Kolkata. Recently, Vishan Nityanand has prepared a documentary of the Kosi which
I have helped making him. The film has got tremendous response from the viewers.
I am also the convenor of an informal group of flood activists called Barh Mukti Abhiyan. It is a very loose
but quite effective group with wide acceptance and vast contacts. There is, however, no formal
membership and no institutional base.
I had published a book on the River Mahananda (Bandini Mahananda), a boundary river between Bihar
and Bengal, in 1994 and have published a bi-lingual (Hindi and English) book on the Bhutahi Balan (2004)
(Bhutahi Nadi aur Takniki Jhar Phoonk / Story of a Ghost River and Engineering Witchcraft) and the
Kamla River (2005) (Baghawat Par Majboor Mithila Ki Kamala Nadi/ The Kamla-River and People on
Collision Course). I have completed a book on the River Kosi titled ‘ Dui Paatan Ke Beech Mein - Kosi
Nadi Ki Kahaani’ in 2006 and this is published in Hindi. Its updated English version titled “Trapped!
Between the Devil and Deep Waters - Story of Bihar’s Kosi River” came out in 2008. I have just finished a
book in Hindi on the Bagmati, titled Bagmati Ki Sadgati (Last Rites of the Bagmati). Its English version
will take some time for translation and printing. Once the Bagmati’s English version is over, I will take up
the last major river of North Bihar, the Gandak and that will complete detailing all the major rivers of north
Bihar.
List of Publications
Mishra, D.K., 1981, ‘A Survey of Some Selected Sanitation Projects in India’ 1981, Oxfam (India) Trust,
Calcutta.
Mishra D.K., and Prakash, H.R., 1983, ‘An Evaluation of Andhra Pradesh Cyclone Shelters Programme’
Disasters, U.K., Vol: 6, No: 4, pp205-255.
Mishra, D.K., 1987, ‘Cultural Attitude in Sanitation’, Health for Millions, Voluntary Health Association of
India, September, 1987.
Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1990, Barh Se Trast- Sinchai Se Past, Uttar Bihar Ki Vyatha-Katha ( Roughly
translated as Down with Floods and Down with Irrigation - A Sad Story of North Bihar in Hindi- deals with
the problems faced in various river basins of North Bihar), Samta Prakashan-Patna.
Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1992, ‘Kosi - Umra Quaid Se Sazaa-E- Mout Tak’ (In Hindi- dealing with the
international politics of rivers and their control)), Barh Mukti Abhiyan-Patna.
Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1992, ‘Proceedings of the First Delegates Conference of Flood Sufferers’ (In Hindi),
Barh Mukti Abhiyan-Bihar, Patna. Ed. Report in Hindi.
Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1994, ‘Bandini Mahananda’ (Roughly translated as The Mahananda- The River in
Captivity), Samta Prakashan, Patna. A book in Hindi about the river Mahananda, a boundary river between
Bihar and West Bengal.
Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1996, ‘ Thus Come The Floods’, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Bihar-Patna. Bilingual
Booklet.
9. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1996, ‘Stagnating Pools and the Gandak Command’, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Bihar-
Patna and Sahyog-Gorakhpur UP. Bilingual Booklet.
10. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1997, ‘Proceedings of the Second Delegates Conference of Flood Sufferers held at
Nirmali’, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Bihar-Patna. Ed. Bilingual Report.
11. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1997, ‘The Bihar Flood Story’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol:XXXII, No:35,
August 30, 1997. pp 2206-2217.
12. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1998, ‘Proceedings of the Seminar on River Crises in South Asia’, Barh Mukti
Abhiyan, Bihar-Patna. Ed. Bilingual Report.
13. Ahmed, J.U., Evelyn Bazalgette & Dinesh Kumar Mishra 1998 Evaluation of Emergency Relief Program of
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) funded by NOVIB in Bangladesh, 1998
14. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1999, ‘Above the Danger Mark’, Himal, Vol.12, No: 1, pp12-17. January 1999.
15. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1999, ‘The Embankment Trap’, SEMINAR,478, June 1999.
16. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 1999, ‘The Flood Protection That Never Was’ ,Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol.XXXIV, No:29, July 17 1999., pp2013-2017.
17. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 2000, ‘Bihar- Breaches of Promises’, India Disasters Report, Oxfam, Ed.
Parasuraman S, and Unnikrishnan, P.V., pp 157-159.
18. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 2000, ‘Boya Per Babul Ka- Barh Niyantrana Ka Rahasya’, (In Hindi- deals with the
limitations of the flood control technologies) Prithvi Prakashan, New Delhi.
19. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Inundated by Excuses, Down To Earth, Vol: 9, No: 8, September 15th. 2000.
20. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Freedom from Floods, Humanscape, Vol. VII, Issue X, October 2000.
21. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Stagnating Pools and The Gandak Command, Jal Jamav Virodhee Sangharsh
Samiti, Saran, 2001 (Reprint).
22. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, Refugees of the Kosi, Himal - Kathmandu, April 2001.
23. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, Living With Floods, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XXXVI No: 29 July 21-27,
2001,pp: 2756-2761.
24. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar & Unnikrishnan, Dr P.V.; Silent Floods, Oxfam India, Bangalore, Karnataka,
India, July 2001. http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/OCHA-64CP6C
25. Mishra Dinesh Kumar, Proceedings of the Consultation on the Report of the World Commission on Dams,
Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Ed. August 2001, Bilingual Report.
26. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, Bihar Floods- Options for Future Works, Paper presented at the regional
workshop, 22nd-23rd. December 2001, Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad, Dhaka.
27. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, ‘Living with the Politics of Floods’, People’s Science Institute, Dehradoon. 2002
This is a book on the limitations of flood control technology and is a translation of ‘Boya Per Babool Ka’
28. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; 'Life within Embankments', Water Nepal, Vol.0-10, July 1-2, 2003, pp. 277-301.
29. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar, 2003, ‘Floods Despite Dams’, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Bihar-Patna. Bilingual Booklet.
30. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Thus Come the Floods, 2003, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, 2003.
31. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar. Noose around the Mahananda, Mahananda Tatbandh Virodhee Sangharsh Samiti,
Katihar, 2003.
32. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Preventing Cats From Becoming Tigers, Social Movements and Floods, Barh Mukti
Abhiyan-A case study, SaciWATERS ,Hyderabad, 2003.
33. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar & Kumar, S., Challenges Of Flood Management In Bhutahi Balan, Water Nepal,
Vol.11, Number-1, Aug. 2003-Jan.2004.
34. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Story of a Ghost River and Engineering Witchcraft, Barh Mukti Abhiyan and
Kasturba Mahila Mandal, Madhubani, 2004.
35. Mishra; Dinesh Kumar, Bhutahi Nadi Aur Takneeki Jhaar Phoonk, (Hindi) 2004, Barh Mukti Abhiyan (Hindi)
36. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Panos Institute Southasia, War on Ganga, Chapter -4, Flooded and Waterlogged
Bihar, 2004.
37. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Harvesting Flood Relief, India Together, August 2004.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/aug/opi-floods.htm
38. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Flooded With Ineptitude, Hardnews - Delhi, August 2004.
39. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; A Neighbour’s Concern, Hardnews - Delhi, September 2004.
40. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; That Sinking Feeling, Hardnews - Delhi, November 2004.
41. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Abandoned Victims of The Kosi Embankments, Infochange India, Jan 2005.
42. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Once Upon a Sankranti; Indiatogether, January 2005.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/jan/opi-kosipast.htm
43. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Breaching of Embankments or Breaching of Trust, IWMI-Tata, Water Policy
Program, Program and Compendium of Extended Extracts, IRMA - Anand, 24th- 26th February 2005.
44. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Flood of Unkept Promises; Humanscape, June 2005.
45. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Kamla - People And River On A Collision Course, Barh Mukti Abhiyan (2005).
46. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Baghaawat Par Majboor Mithila Ki Kamla Nadi (Hindi), Barh Mukti Abhiyan, 2005.
47. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Upcoming Bihar Floods, Himal South Asia, Kathmandu, August- 2005.
48. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Flood Control - Where Technology Gets Stuck, ISET - Winrock International,
Proceedings of Workshop On Climatic Change, Kathmandu, 2006.
49. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Impact of Flood Control Policies on The People Of Saharsa District of North Bihar,
Ph.D. Thesis submitted to South Gujarat University, Surat, Gujarat, 2006.
50. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Dui Paatan Ke Beech Mein - Kosi Nadi Ki Kahaani (Between The Devil And The
Deep Sea- Story of The Kosi River)Hindi, People’s Science Institute - Dehradoon. 2006
51. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The unbearable Lightness of big Dams, Hardnews, New Delhi October 2006,
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2006/10/614
52. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Playing Politics with Floods, Indiatogether, September 2007.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/sep/gov-floods.htm
53. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Flooded with Wrong Ideas, Hardnews-Delhi,
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/portal/2007/10/1314
54. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Bihar’s Embanking Mindset,
http://www.himalmag.com/2007/august/bihar_flood_dinesh_mishra.htm, Himal South Asia, August 2007.
55. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Bagmati’s Final Sealing, Himal South Asia, March 2007.
http://www.himalmag.com/2007/march/analysis2.htm
56. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Bihar Floods of 2007: Some Lessons for Everyone, Dams, Rivers and People, Vol.
5, Issue 10-11, Nov. & Dec. 2007 http://www.sandrp.in/floods/Bihar_Floods_DKMishra_Dec2007.pdf
57. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Living Under a Constant Threat of Eviction. Indiatogether, 16th April 2008.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/mar/env-bagmati.htm
58. Mishra Dinesh Kumar; Dismal Performance of Large and Medium Irrigation Schemes in Bihar, South Asian
Network on Dams, Rivers and People,Vol.6, Issue 3-4, April-May 2008.
59. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Waiting for a Statesman, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu, August 2008.
http://www.himalmag.com/The-wait-for-the-statesman_nw970.html
60. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Trapped! Between Devil and the Deep Waters-Story of Bihar’s Kosi River People’s
Science Institute-Dehradoon and SANDRAP- New Delhi, 2008.
61. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Bihar Floods: The Inevitable Has Happened, Economic and Political Weekly, 5-12
September 2008, pp 8-12, http://epw.org.in/epw//uploads/articles/12619.pdf
<http://epw.org.in/epw/uploads/articles/12619.pdf>
62. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Kosi Floods: No Lessons Learnt, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu, September 2008.
http://www.himalmag.com/Kosi-floods-no-lessons-learnt_dnw38.html
63. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Kosi breaches repeatedly, governments merely fiddle, India Together,
September 2008. http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/sep/gov-kosi.htm
64. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; No one’s ashamed! Hard News, October 2008,
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2008/10/2378
65. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; (ed.) Proceedings of the Fifth Delegates Conference (25th-26th October
2008) held at Public Library, Supaul (Bihar).
67. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Kosi Balance Sheet, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu, October 2008.
http://himalmag.com/The-Kosi-Balance-Sheet_dnw70.html
67. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Kosi and the Embankment Story, Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. 43, No: 46, November 15 2008,pp 47-52. http://epw.in/uploads/articles/12868.pdf
68. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Finger in the Dike, Himal Southasian, November 2008, Kathmandu,
http://himalmag.com/Finger-in-the-dike_nw2420.html
69. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Namani Subansiri Jalvidyut Prakalp (In Assamese); Published by NEADS,
Dhekiakhoa, Jorhat, Assam, November 2008.
70. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The Legends of Kosi, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu, March 2009,
http://himalmag.com/The-legends-of-Kosi_nw2859.html
71. Mishra; Dinesh Kumar, Disaster Management - Need for Reassessment, Yojana, Vol 53, pp-19-22, June
2009. http://www.yojana.gov.in/topstory_details.asp?storyid=81
72. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; A Sustainable Engineering Disaster, Down to Earth, July 31, 2009.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20090731&filename=news&sec_id=50&sid=33.
73. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Floods and Some Legal Concerns, in Water and the Laws in India, Ed. Ramaswamy
R. Aiyer, http://www.deastore.com/book/water-and-the-laws-in-ramaswamy-r-iyer-sage-publications-india-
pvt-ltd/9788178298504.html, SAGE Publications, New Delhi, 2009.
74. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Drought in Bihar: Frontline, Frontier - Vol 42, No: 5, August 16-22 -2009.
Bihar-42-5.pdf-, http://www.geocities.com/frontierweekly/past-issues.htm
75. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Kosi is back to its permanent clientele, d-sector, http://www.d-sector.org/article-
detailCon.asp?id=12, 7th August 2009.
76. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; (ed) Proceedings of the Sixth Delegates Conference (5th and 6th September 2009)
held at Chandrayan and Saharsa. Barh Mukti Abhiyan, Bihar
77. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Revisiting Kusaha, Terra Green, Delhi, January 2010.
http://terragreen.teriin.org/index.php?option=com_terragreen&task=detail§ion_id=552&category_id=7
&issueid=32
78. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; A village at the mercy of the Bagmati , Officials.
http://news.rediff.com/column/2010/jul/08/a-village-at-the-mercy-of-the-bagmati-officials.htm?invitekey=
9f473d97fa9e593b056e7d30f5b7be99
78. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Kosi’s Kiss, Hard News July 2010. http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2010/07/3617
79. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Gandak Embankment Breached Again, d-sector, http://www.d-sector.org/article-
det.asp?id=1380, 21st September 2010.
80. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Embankment Related Compensation to Drain Exchequer, http://www.d-
sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1442, 6th December 2010.
81. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; (ed) Barh Mukti Abhiyan-Bihar, Report on the Bagmati Padyatra (2nd - 6th April 2010),
October 2010.
82. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Bagmati ki Sadgati (Last Rites of the Bagmati) in Hindi - People’s Science Institute,
252 Vasant Vihar Phase-1, Dehradoon 248006, Uttarakhand, 2010.
83. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; The People vs Environment, Himal Southasian, 11th March 2011,
http://www.himalmag.com/component/content/article/4288-the-people-vs-the-environment.html
84. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Bihar Floods, Breaching Embankments and Suppressing Information, Dams Rivers
and People, Vol.9 Issue-2, March 2011, http://www.sandrp.in/drp/DRP_March_2011.pdf
85. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; 40 years on, these villagers await rehabilitation. http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-
show/slide-show-1-40-years-on-these-villagers-await-rehabilitation/20110524.htm, 27th May 2011.
86. Mishra, Dinesh Kumar; Villages Sinking in Bagmati’s Sand, http://www.d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1643,
June 2011.
Dinesh Kumar Mishra
Jamshedpur - India
July, 2011