Vol. V, No. 10.] The Rivers of Bengal. 397 
[N.8.] 
‘years, but such as they are, they are inseparable from this 
‘plan, and it might even be said, that the more perfectly the 
‘embankments are maintained in the meantime, the greater 
‘twill be the eventual catastrophe.”’ 
As I have already remarked, this case was dealt with by 
having the right bank of the river open to flood, while the 
left bank, on which are the East Indian Railway and the more 
important towns and villages, was provided with an efficient 
embankment without any spill-ways. So far, it does not 
appear that there has been any appreciable rise in the flood 
levels of the lower portion of the Damodar, but, in the course 
of time, as the surface of the country open to flood on the 
tight bank is raised by the deposit of silt, some rise must take 
place unless the channel of the river enlarges to a corres- 
ponding extent. This was recognised at the time when it was 
, in 1858, Captain Harris, who carried out a most valuable 
survey of the river Mahanadi and its delta, expressed the 
opinion that the growth of the embankments in the delta 
between 1840 and 1856 had caused a higher level of flood. 
This view was not, however, accepted by Captain Short, who 
was then Superintendent of Embankments. He pointed out 
e 
of the delta. 
Since that time much has been done to improve the 
papers, we can claim to have made a considerable advance. 
e, the case that the lands open to flood will, 
very gradually, be raised in level while those protected will 
