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Rautahat, Siraha villages exposed to flood threats
Dozens of settlements in Rautahat and Sarlahi districts are at high risk of flood as the embankments at Bagmati and Lalbakaiya rivers which were breached during last year’s monsoon have not been repaired yet.Dozens of settlements in Rautahat and Sarlahi districts are at high risk of flood as the embankments at Bagmati and Lalbakaiya rivers which were breached during last year’s monsoon have not been repaired yet.
There are 31 breaches along these embankments that have been left unrepaired.
Raj Kumar Shreebastab, the division chief of Department of Water Induced Disaster Management (DWIDM), said the damaged embankments could not be repaired due to fund shortage.
The two embankments were constructed with the support of Indian government.
Prabhat Jha, a resident of Raj Devi Municipality in Rautahat, said several settlements at Gadhimai, Madhav Narayan, Gaur and Durga Bhagawati were exposed to flood dangers.
“Scores of villages will be inundated this monsoon as the authorities have not taken any initiative to fix the damaged embankment,” he said.
The DWIDM said it would take around Rs 200 million to repair the embankments.
“Since our government could not allocate the required fund to repair the embankments, we are holding talks with the Indian side for its support,” said Shreebastab.
Last year, floodwaters from the Bagmati river had breached the embankment at Dhurwa, Mahinathpur, Harakthawa, Manpur Hajriya Malaha, Raj Ghat Kharsal.
The Lalbakaiya river had meanwhile caused damages at Bairiya, Phatuwa, Pokhariys, Tejapakad, Khoriya, Butuwa, Laxminiya, Inarwa, Maryadpur, Gamhariya and Buniyad.
“We spent numerous sleepless nights due to flood threats during last monsoon. Here we are staring at a similar predicament this year as well,” said Ganesh Sah of Badharwa.
Lawmaker of Province-2 Abbul Kalam said that the government should find a long-term solution to end the problem of flood in the region.