The residents of Manang, a mountain district in Gandaki Province, have had no respite from intermittent floods in the Marshyangdi River since the start of monsoon this year.

Chame, the district headquarters of Manang, saw massive floods in the river on Wednesday, leaving a bailey bridge that links upper Manang to other parts of the district at high risk of being swept away. The floodwaters overflowed through the bridge where some trees that were swept away by the flooded river are stuck.

According to Narayan Kusum, chief at the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre in Manang, a school building, some houses and a suspension bridge are also at high risk of inundation. He said the river changed its course and moved towards the human settlement.

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rainfall first wreaked havoc in several settlements of Manang on June 14, destroying scores of houses and displacing hundreds of people.

The local people, who expected the floods to gradually recede, are now restless due to the continuous floods in various rivers and rivulets.

“The swollen Marsyhangdi river has not receded, leaving the area at further risk of inundation,” said Lokendra Ghale, the chairman of Chame Rural Municipality.

Melina Gurung, who survived the floods on June 15, is anxious to return home to her partially damaged house in Chame. “The floods inundated my house. I escaped on time. I go to Chame almost every day to see the flood situation. The river is still raging and might sweep away my house altogether,” Gurung, who has been taking shelter at her relative’s house in Talekhu, told the Post over the phone.

The water level in the river further increased on Wednesday. It had not receded on Thursday as well as the area has been witnessing rainfall.

According to the Chief District Officer of Manang Bishnu Lamichhane, the river has been gaining strength since Tuesday night following heavy rainfall. “The bailey bridge in Chame is at risk. Security personnel have been deployed in the area to protect the bridge. But the rising water level in the river is not helping,” said Lamichhane.

According to the District Administration Office in Manang, the floods and landslides since June 14 have destroyed 56 houses and left more than 200 other houses at risk.

Meanwhile, in Rolpa of Lumbini Province, three family members were buried to death and three were critically injured in a landslide at Dampa settlement on Tuesday night.

According to Chief District Officer Nabaraj Sapkota, two critically injured have been airlifted to Butwal for treatment.

“We were informed about the incident at around 4am. It took around four hours to reach the incident site as the road in the area was disrupted due to floods and landslides,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Naresh Raj Subedi.

(Kashiram Dangi contributed reporting from Rolpa.)