Introduction

The state of rivers throughout the world is a cause for concern. Large rivers like Ganga and Yamuna have been the subject of much attention, and various remedial measures have been introduced for years with varying levels of success. 1 On the contrary, small rivers are usually seen, at best, as tributaries of something more important, but are often not considered. This is what made us decide to start our enquiry with a small dying river. The Champa River, a small tributary of the Ganga River in Bihar&s;s Bhagalpur district, is one of thousands of such rivers. It may seem inconsequential in the context of the broader Ganga basin, but it is nonetheless a full river, with its own catchment, biodiversity and riparian communities. It is recognised as a critically endangered water system, 2 and for all practical purposes is a dead river since it has little to no flow for large parts of the year. Some of the reasons of its degradation are extraction of silt, garbage dumping and riverbed encroachments by settlements. As a result, the erstwhile river is now locally known as Champa Nala. 3 Recently, the Government of Bihar has marked nineteen rivers for rejuvenation, and Champa Nala is one of them. 4