The residents of Tilathi village, a village bordering India in Saptari district, have accused the Indian authorities of not being serious enough to resolve the problem of inundation caused by a makeshift embankment built in the Khado stream at the no-man’s-land.

They say the Indian side has refused to fix the problem, citing that it is currently engaged in other projects.

Tilathi villagers have blamed the Indian authorities of constructing the embankment by encroaching upon the no-man’s-land to divert the floodwaters towards the Nepali side.

Two years ago, 12 villagers were injured when a clash ensued after they tried to dismantle the embankment.

Although the Nepal and Indian side in 2014 had agreed to channel the water from Khado and Jita streams towards Bhaluwahi stream as a flood control measure.

India, as part of the deal, was supposed to control the Khado stream.

Tilathi locals say the Indian authorities did not keep its end of the deal.

Madhukar Raj Bhandari, director general of the Department of Water Induced Disaster Management, said the Indian officials had told the recent meeting of the two sides that they cannot resolve the problem caused by the Khado stream because they were currently focused on completing the other flood control projects in Lalbakaiya, Kamala and Bagmati rivers.

 The three projects will not complete until the end of 2018, which means the people of Tilathi and nearby villages will have to deal with the problem of flood in the upcoming monsoon as well.