Death toll rises to 17 in flood displaced camps

Five more persons who were displaced by the Koshi floods died while undergoing treatment from a serious bout of diarrhea in hospitals in flood hit Sunsari and Saptari district on 6th September. With this, the death toll in the aftermath of the floods has reached 17. Reports with citation of police claimed that Babita Ray, 45, and Mohhamed Khatun, 25, both locals of Haripur, Sunsari succumbed to diarrhea while undergoing treatment.

Similarly, hundreds of flood victims housed in 20 government-run camps of Sunsari are suffering from diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia, typhoid and cold. The government is running medical centers in the camps to keep a check on the deteriorating health and sanitation condition of the flood displaced. On 5th September, Health Minister Girirajmani Pokharel promised that medical teams, including eight gynecologists will be mobilized at camps for the displaced people from Saturday.

"Our main concern is to contain diseases inside the camps, which are likely to reach epidemic proportions if not acted upon immediately," he said. "The camps should be insulated against the cold and provided with safe drinking water and proper toilets."

Similarly, reports from Saptari said that three more persons who were displaced by the Koshi floods died while undergoing treatment. The deceased have been identified as Kasira Khatun, 26 from Haripur-8, Sunsari, Goma Chaudhary, 24, of Fattepur-1, Saptari and Jham Bahadur Thapa Magar, 65. While Khatun succumbed to diarrhea, Chaudhary and Thapa Magar died due to snake-bite yesterday.

Whereas, Nona Koirala Memorial Institute, Biratnagar, with the help of doctors' team provided medical service to 300 pregnant women and nursing mothers yesterday. According to Narayan Kumar, a medical officer, women living in a camp at Bhokraha were provided with health facilities and pregnant women were examined. The health camp is supported by Abhay Narayan Hospital, Biratnagar.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to shift the Koshi flood displaced, who are taking shelter in 20 government run camps of Sunsari, to new shelters.  Chief District Officer (CDO) Durga Prasad Bhandari told that over 27,000 people of Shripur, Haripur, Paschim Kusaaha and Aschim Laukahi VDCs, forced out from their villages due to the flood three weeks ago, will be rehabilitated in three new sectors.

The government has decided to house around 8000 displaced on a state owned land at Laukahi, some 7000 inside the Eastern Regional Prison at Jhumka and the rest at Simiray, according to the report.  "We are also holding discussion with the Indian security agencies for repatriation of the displaced from bordering Indian villages, who had swarmed to Nepal in the wake of the flood," said Bhandari.  Sunsari administration estimates that over 10,000 Indians are staying in the district based displaced shelters at present.

(Posted on 7th September)

Three missing in Damauli flood

Three members of a family in Dhorphedi VDC-7 of Tanahun have been missing since six days after Saraudi river swept away them. Inspector at Area Police Office, Belchautari, Narahari Regmi said 75-year-old Keyarman Shreshta and his two grandsons have been missing. It is learnt that they were heading to home from Damauli on August 31 after attending a programme and were swept away by the river while trying to cross it. Despite several efforts by their relatives and the police, they have not found yet.

Likewise, property worth millions of rupees has been damaged due to landslides triggered by incessant rainfall in Ward No 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 of Syamgha VDC of Tanahu. Landslides damaged rice crop, irrigation canal and dam. The landslide swept away over 150 ropanis of rice field, damaged over a dozen of dams, three cowsheds and nearly three kilometres section of irrigation canal, said Siddhibhakta Kandel of the VDC. The landslide also damaged Sindhu Highway causing a disruption in traffic movement.

Meanwhile, 155kg of rice has been distributed as relief to six families of Barbhanjyang VDC who were displaced due to a landslide nearly a week ago. In Chautara, Sindhupalchowk DDC and district natural disaster rescue committee have decided to provide Rs 9,000 relief to each of the 18 Majhi families affected by flood in Indravati River in Badegaun VDC-4 of the district.

The DDC will contribute Rs 4,000 and the district natural disaster relief committee Rs 5,000 to the relief to each of the families, according to CDO Kailashnath Kharel. The river has eroded over 200 ropanis of land in the Majhi settlement in the village this rainy season. Some of the affected families have been displaced from the village and are living in makeshift camps in a nearby jungle.

Similarly, a landslide has displaced 25 households from Kulung village development committee of Bhojpur. According to the Bhojpur district police office, families of Ekraj Giri, Karna Bahadur Neupane, Indra Bahadur Khadka and Mahindra Rai are among the displaced. The victims have been putting up in houses of neighbours and relatives. Meanwhile, a landslide swept away a paddy field of Bal Bahadur Charmakar in Mulpani VDC-6 on Thursday.

In Lamjung, twenty-eight electricity transmitters were damaged at Dhamilikuwa, Tarkughat, Bhalayakharka, Chakratirtha and the adjoining villages due to the landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, leaving hundreds of locals in darkness since past one week. Some 15 electricity poles fell down because of the landslides and floods in the areas.

(Posted on 7th September)

Furnitures and textbooks urgently required to resume schools

Schools in Inaruwa and other flood-affected areas of Sunsari district have remained closed for 19 days, affecting thousands of students. The closure came after school buildings were inundated following flooding in the Saptakoshi River. The shutdown has affected 15,000 students of Haripur, Sripur, Paschim Kusaha and Laukahi, the displaced said.

According to Sunsari District Education Officer Deepak Kafle, over 16,000 students of schools, college and madrasa in Inaruwa and adjoining areas have not been able to give continuity to studies. "Academic activities cannot resume till flood victims, who have been taking shelter in school and college buildings, are shifted elsewhere," Kafle said.

To enable schools and colleges to resume academic activities, the government should make alternative arrangements for the flood victims first, he said. "The Saptakoshi flood has inundated 17 community school buildings, six madrasas, 13 buildings of private and boarding schools and 24 child development centres in Paschim Kusaha, Haripur, Sripur and Laukahi VDCs in Sunsari district," Kafle said. "The flooded Saptakoshi has swept away dresses, textbooks and teaching materials.   Educational institutes will not be able to resume classes unless they get textbooks and dresses."

Saying that the Ministry of Education has been urged to supply textbooks and other teaching materials, Kafle said discussions were underway with donor agencies to provide school uniforms to the students.

"Though teaching materials and dresses can be managed, it will be difficult to run classes in flood-affected areas," Jagadish Oli, a district-based educationist said. As the flooding has damaged chairs, benches and other physical infrastructure of Inaruwa-based schools and colleges, it will be difficult to resume classes. "Seventy-five per cent of furniture belonging to Inaruwa-based schools, colleges and madrasas has been damaged. They will have to be repaired before the resumption of academic activities," DEO Kafle said.

Lakhs of rupees will be needed for the resumption of academic activities in educational institutes of the district, Sunsari CDO Durga Bhandari said. "As more than 3,000 furniture items of schools, colleges and madrasas in Inaruwa have been damaged. These items should be repaired to run the educational institutes," said Satya Narayan Meheta, headmaster of the BAL Mandir School, said. "Discussions are underway with international non-governmental organisations, including the UNICEF, World Vision, Plan Nepal and Save the Children, to resume academic activities in the educational institutes," DEO Kafle said, adding, "It will take at least a week's time to resume classes."

(Posted on 7th September)

Koshi dam in top priority during India visit

Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bijaya Kumar Gachhdar has said top priority will be given to the construction of a high dam on the Koshi River during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India. "Koshi high dam is India's top priority and it is Nepal's priority too," Gachchhadar said at Reporters' Club Nepal on 5th September, adding, "Therefore, this issue will be taken up with special focus during the PM's visit."

He also informed that the government is planning to operate two motorized boats within eight to ten days along the damaged section of East-West Highway as an immediate alternative to bridges. The motor boats will ferry passengers free of cost. The government is also planning to operate ferries at Chatara-Dharan road within a few weeks as an alternative route.

Following the damage to the East-West Highway due to Koshi floods, the whole eastern region has been cut off from the rest of the country while people in the central, western and other parts of the country have been facing shortage of essential goods.  "Transportation is the major challenge at the moment, therefore we have to resume vehicle operation along the route within four months," he said, adding, "Embankment and other reconstruction works should be completed within the next nine months." People's movement will significantly increase along the roads within a few weeks due to arrival of Dashain and Tihar festival.

The government has decided to allocate Rs 2.5 billion for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by Koshi floods and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works had proposed Rs 550 million for an alternative route to the the Highway and for repairing the damaged section of the Highway.

On the other hand, the district administration has been working on a war footing to rehabilitate flood victims. It said the preparation to rehabilitate the flood victims is nearing completion. Chief District Officer of Sunsari Durga Bhandari said the flood victims will be resettled in three places -- on the premises of Jhumka-based regional prison premises, on the ground near the Laukahi Customs and on the premises of the Simariya-based Crystal Industry. The chief district officer said 8,000 displaced persons would be resettled in Jhumka within 1 or 2 days. Laukahi and Simariya will also accommodate the same number of flood victims. Authorities are busy building infrastructure on the regional prison premises. Work is in progress in Laukahi also. CDO Bhandari said construction of infrastructure would be completed in Simariya soon. At least 28,000 Koshi flood victims have been taking shelter in temporary camps set up in Sunsari.

Meanwhile, Indian government engineers have begun digging a new channel to correct the course of Koshi River that burst its banks, causing devastating flooding across vast tracts of land on both sides of the Indo-Nepal border. “Work on shifting the river back has begun,” said D Rajak, a senior engineer. Rajak said engineers plan to cut a 7-8 km-long channel to divert the water so that it flows back along its usual westward direction. The channel would allow workers to plug the more than 1.7 km-long breaches in the river’s embankment, he said.

In another separate program on 6th September, the speakers called for a long-term plan to control soil erosion in the Chure and Tarai regions. The call comes at a time when rivers have been washing away hundreds of hectares of fertile land. The rate of river-triggered erosion is higher in Tarai and Chure regions compared to hilly districts, said Lal Bahadur Kurmi, an expert on erosion control. He said saplings of bamboo, Khayar, Sissoo and Simal should be planted to control erosion in Chure and Tarai, adding that District Development Committees, the Office of Water-Induced Disaster Control and the District Forest Offices should work in tandem to control erosion.

“Soil erosion can be controlled to a great extent by creating greenbelts along river banks in Tarai and building gabion walls,” Kurmi said. The District Soil Erosion Office releases Rs 20 lakh every year to control erosion, which is simply not enough. “With this much budget, we can only take short-term measures to control erosion,” said Prem Narayan Jha, an officer at the Siraha District Soil Conservation Office, urging the government to form a long-term strategy to control erosion.

(Posted on 7th September)

Starvation hits five VDCs of Mugu

People of Mugu district have been suffering as there has been rain for long this time as they had been suffering sometimes from draught, sometimes epidemic and sometimes from flood.

They have been leaving for neighboring India from remote villages after they were faced with starvation because of heavy rain and reduced production. The most affected are five VDCs of Karma region known as the driest place of the district.  Karma Tamang of Karat said 45 households of Dolfu VDC, 20 of Chitai, 18 of Kartigaun, and 30 of Kimri Gaun and 20 of Mugu village have left for India.

He said the production of nafal and potato crop grown once a year has not been satisfactory, the price of Yarsagumba was decreased and Namchya pass in Mugu was closed for the Beijing Olympics affecting 991 families of Dolkhu, Magri, Thigri, Mugu and Pul VDCs. All the families affected from starvation are nationalities.

Their jethbali (summer crop) was also damaged from heavy hailstones in Khalwang region and 329 of Hayanglu and 310 families of Khamale VDC forcing them to leave for India.

(Posted on 7th September)

Temporary health centre in affected areas

The meeting of Central Management and Monitoring Committee, held on 6th September in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, decided to establish temporary health service center rooming certain number of beds for people affected by flood in Sunsari and Saptari districts. The government has already allocated around Rs 127 millions to run health services inside these camps.

In another development, the government has decided to dispatch a team of medical experts to the government run camps in Sunsari and Saptari after there were reports of more and more people failing sick due to unhygienic living condition in the camps. The government has already allocated around Rs 127 millions to run health services inside these camps.

In the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Bamdev Goutam, minister for Defence Ram Bahadur Thapa, Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Chief Secretary of Government of Nepal, Dr. Bhojraj Ghimire and Secretary at Ministry of General Administration Dr. Govinda Prasad Kusum were present.

The meeting decided to engage Nepal Army and private sector to run helicopter service for people from Inruwa to Kanchanpur with concession price, to direct Department of Road to begin extension works of roads from Dharan to Chatara/ Baraha area and from Kanchanpur to Phattepur Beltar within seven days and to direct Nepal Army to begin extension works of road from Chatara/Baraha area to Suspension Bridge within seven days.

The meeting also decided to direct Department of Road to run ferry that can carry goods carrier vehicles in Chatara, to run motorboat from Loukahi to Bhantabari and to establish managed camp to displaced people and to run school for their children.

(Posted on 7th September)

'Unverified' flood victims go hungry

Over 4,500 persons displaced by Koshi flooding in Sunsari had to go hungry the whole day on 4th September after aid organisations providing relief materials denied any food items to them saying they were not 'verified'.

Not a single aid organization came up to provide food materials for those taking shelter at Koshi Secondary School located in Laukahi, Akraha Primary School located in Jokraha and Janata Higher Secondary School in Madhuvan of flood-hit Sunsari district. This goes against Red Cross' pledge that aid organizations would not discriminate against anybody affected by the floods and would provide food to all of them. Chief District Officer Durga Prasad Bhandari said Natural Disaster Rescue Committee would arrange for food for all the flood victims until they are all verified.

Meanwhile, during 5th September's session of the Legislature Parliament, lawmakers from various political parties raised serious concern over the plight of the flood victims in Sunsari district and accused both the governments of Nepal and India for gross negligence which invited the Koshi catastrophe.

The lawmakers also urged Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to press for nullifying all 'unequal' treaties and agreements reached with India during his first "political visit" to the country next week.

(Posted on 7th September)

Swollen rivers put Jhapa villages in peril

Swollen Kankai and Kamal rivers have put two villages in Jhapa district in peril. The two rivers have swept away the Dudhe-Mahabhara-Kunjibari road in Bhansar, Giddhigaun and Rangiyathan, putting Mahabhara and Korobari VDCs at the risk of inundation.

"Hundreds of people will be displaced if the swollen rivers gush into the VDCs," said Bijay Agrawal, a former chairman of Mahabhara VDC. "The flooded Kankai has displaced 25 families from Mahabhara VDC and rendered some 300 bighas of land uncultivable." The rivers have caused erosion in Kunjibari, Dhunganabasti, Devighada, Jantachauri and Jaliyabasti of Mahabhara. The flooded rivers have put the Jana Kalyan Secondary School, which lies on the border of ward nos. 3 and 4 of the VDC, in peril, Agrawal further said. Kankai is also causing erosion in ward nos. 6 and 8 of Shivgunj VDC. It has begun washing away the road linking Mahabhara with Panchgachhi VDCs.

A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Balaram Thapaliya, a social worker, to take measures to control erosion along the Dudhe-Mahabhara-Kunjibari road. Meanwhile, local residents of Lakhanpur VDC have urged the Jhapa District Administration Office to provide relief to people whose land has been washed away by the Ratuwa River. A team led by CA member from Jhapa-7 Bishwodip Lingden met Jhapa CDO Shankar Prasad Koirala yesterday. It urged the CDO to take measures to tame Ratuwa. Ratuwa has affected people of Damak municipality and Lakhanpur VDC the most.

(Posted on 7th September)