Residents of Nepal’s border village of Susta have resumed building makeshift embankments after rising water levels in the Narayani river threatened to inundate their settlement, saying a delayed flood protection project has left them with no other option.

Villagers in ward 5 of Susta Rural Municipality in Nawalparasi West have been filling sacks with soil and gravel and stacking them along the riverbank after floodwaters began encroaching on the Tharu settlement.

Construction of a permanent embankment, intended to reduce the annual flood risk, stalled last fiscal year after objections from the Indian side prevented work at the most vulnerable section of the river, according to residents.

With floodwaters continuing to rise, residents have resorted to temporary barriers in an attempt to keep the river out.

Hundreds of villagers have been working since Wednesday evening to reinforce the riverbank through voluntary labour, said Rabindra Jaiswal, spokesperson for the ‘Save Susta Campaign’.

“The government allocated funds to build an embankment in Susta, but the work could not be completed where flooding is most severe because the Indian side blocked construction,” Jaiswal said. “Now we are filling sacks with soil and gravel and placing them along the riverbank ourselves. If the river breaches the settlement, the entire village could be displaced.”

Residents of Susta live with the threat of flooding every monsoon as the Narayani river swells.

After enduring years of recurring floods, many had hoped the embankment project would finally offer lasting protection. While permanent embankments were completed in some sections, construction never reached the Tharu settlement, which has suffered repeated flooding for years, leaving the community exposed, said Laila Begam, another leader of the campaign.

“We are using wire mesh, rocks and sacks filled with gravel to stop the erosion ourselves,” Begam said. “We have no choice but to protect our own village.”

Susta is surrounded by the Narayani river on three sides and Indian territory on the fourth, making it one of the country’s most flood-prone border settlements. The village is inundated almost every year during the monsoon.