Breaking news
Five people died in landslides
in Kaski and Tanahun on 2nd July
morning. The deceased have been
identified as three members of a
family. Buddha Ghale, 80 years,
Sunny Gurung, 25 years, Purnima
Gurung,1 and a half years at
Marjyangkot, Deurali VDC-9 in
Kaski. A landslide that occurred
at around two this morning swept
away the home some 200 meters
down the hill. One Rekha Gurung
has sustained critical injuries.
She has been rushed to the
nearby hospital for the medical
treatment. Rescue operation is
underway, the police informed.
The landslide was triggered by
the continuous rain since
Tuesday night.
In another incident, Bhagwati
Bhujel and her daughter Sima
Bhujel died in a landslide at
Thapek VDC-6, Tanahun. Their
house was swept away at the wee
hour in the same morning.
(Updated on 2nd July)
Swine flu detected in Nepal
Three of a family infected
Swine flu has been detected for
the first time in Nepal in three
members of a family who flew in
Nepal from Washington D C, U.S.
via Qatar on 21st June, health
officials said on 29th June.
The couple that arrived in
Kathmandu with two kids was
confirmed to have been infected,
according to Dr Manas Kumar
Banerjee, co-ordinator of Avian
Influenza Control Project under
the Epidemiology and Disease
Control Unit (EDCU). Their
eight-year-old son is also
infected.
The eight-year-old kid, who has
a separate health condition,
showed symptoms of the disease
on June 24 and tests of his
blood sample confirmed H1N1 2009
influenza virus in him. The
blood samples of the 44-year-old
father and 38-year-old mother
were collected on June 26. The
tests were carried out at the
National Laboratory in Teku
using the equipment sent by the
Center for Disease Control and
Protection (CDC) in Atlanta last
month. The other kid of the
family, younger to the infected,
is normal. . A World Health
Organization (WHO) official said
the infected trio is on
self-quarantine under
supervision of the kid's
grandfather who is a doctor.
Authorities are keeping vigil at
border points and airports to
detect cases of swine flu after
the first case appeared in
Mexico a few months ago. Some 40
teams were working across the
country, according Dr Senendra
Raj Upreti, Director of the
Epidemiology and Disease Control
Division (EDCD) in Teku World
Health Organization (WHO) has
sounded alert to the threat of a
pandemic. It has spread to more
than a hundred countries. There
are currently 36,000 Tami flu
vaccines -- being used by health
officials worldwide for the
disease -- available in Nepal
and maintains that there is no
need to panic. “We can currently
keep around 100 patients in the
treatment centers set up at Teku
and the Teaching Hospital,” he
added.
Dr Uprety said that BP Koirala
Institute of Health Science in
Dharan, Pokhara Hospital,
Lumbini Zonal Hospital and Bheri
Zonal Hospital are also
currently equipped to deal with
swine flu cases if the patients
are found outside the Valley. If
the number of patients goes
beyond the hospitals´
accommodation capacity, the
victims will be provided Tami
flu vaccines and asked to remain
in self-quarantine at home.
Authorities say all regional and
other health bodies outside the
Valley have been put on a high
alert and surveillance at the
Tribhuvan International Airport
has been intensified. Officials
maintain that 99 percent of the
cases are moderate and can be
looked after at homes under
medical supervision. Only one
percent cases show life
threatening Acute Respiratory
Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and
they can be treated in the
facilities set up at hospitals.
The health ministry has also
requested the untracked
passengers of the Qatar Airways
flight to contact the
Epidemiology and Disease Control
Division through phone number
4255796.
Symptoms and precaution
The symptoms of swine flu are
usually like those of regular
seasonal flu:
headache, chills, cough, fever,
loss of appetite, aches,
fatigue, runny nose, sneezing,
watery eyes, throat irritation,
nausea and vomiting, diarrhea,
pneumonia may develop in people
with chronic conditions.
Good prevention measures
- Get a regular seasonal flu
vaccination. It might not help
against this specific strain,
but it won't hurt.
- Wash your hands frequently
with soap and hot running water.
If hot water is not available,
use an alcohol-based hand gel.
- When you cough and sneeze,
cover your mouth and nose. Wash
your hands afterwards.
- Avoid being near others who
might be sick.
- Stay home if you are sick, to
avoid affecting others.
(Posted on 30th June)
Suspension bridge in poor shape
The suspension bridge that lies
between Bhimeshwar Municipality
and Fasku Village Development
Committee (VDC) near the
Charnabatti Tribeni Ghat of
Dolakha District is in poor
condition.
Though hundreds of people use
that wretched bridge, the
related sector has not paid
attention for its repair and
renovation. Most of the wood
planks that are used in the
bridge are broken. In the past,
the local residents had repaired
the bridge themselves by putting
new wooden planks.
The 40 meter bridge connects
Fasku, Pawati, Sailungeshwar and
Dhyanshukathokar villages of the
district. Neither VDCs nor
District Development Committee (DDC)
has allocated budget for the
renovation of the bridge that
connects five villages of the
district.
"Huge fraction of the budget is
spent on road construction but
VDC or DDC have not allocated
even a small amount of money for
the repair of the bridge," said
Ramji Dahal, sub-engineer of
suspension bridge unit, Dolakha
VDC.
(Posted on 30th June)
Marsyangdi floods worry Tal
Bazaar residents
The locals have been panicked
after the Marsyangdi River has
started flowing through Tal
bazaar. The river has entered
Tal bazaar with the increasing
level of water in the river.
The water volume in the river
has become higher before the
start of rainfall. According to
the locals, the water level
increases after 4 p.m. "The
River passes through the
marketplace and it has
frightened the locals,"
chairperson of the Marsyangdi
Youth Club of Tal bazaar,
Minrasi Gurung said.
Owner of Sunrise Hotel Siddhilal
Gurung said that the floods in
the river created a sense of
fear among the locals. "We get
panicked, especially at night.
We feel that the river could
sweep away our houses," he said.
In a bid to protect the
settlement from river cuttings,
an embankment protection project
has been in operation. But the
project has yet to carry out
works along the river at Tal
bazaar. Three years ago, a
sudden flood in the river
inundated Tal bazaar. Since the
floods swept away all roads
around the settlement, locals
were airlifted. The floods also
damaged most of the arable lands
in the area.
(Posted on 30th June)
Locals risk their lives to cross
Mahakali
Scores of people die every year
either by drowning or by being
swept away by the Mahakali River
while crossing it.
People venture to cross the
mighty river by using inflated
tire tubes or by means of
'twine' or a rope bridge due to
the lack of adequate bridges
over the river at different
places. There are no bridges up
to an entire 300 kilometres
stretch. There are only six
bridges over entire length of
the river starting from Lipulek
at Kalapani in Darchula district
up to Mahendranagar in
Kanchanpur district. The
Mahakali River marks the western
border with India. The existing
six bridges over the Mahakali
River are also at a gap of some
50 to 80 kilometers.
Recently, three people are
missing in the Mahakali River as
the rubber tube they were using
to cross the river capsized.
They are from Uku VDC of
Darchula district. One person
has managed to swim to safety.
45 year old Narayan Chand, 58
year old Nara Bahadur Chand and
22 year old Man Bahadur Thagunna
of Banku, VDC-1 lost in the
river after the rubber tube
capsized.
In Darchula district alone, 24
people have lost their lives
over the past one year while
crossing the river. Among the
casualties are mostly women and
children. Similarly, the number
of people drowned or swept away
by the river is also almost
similar in Baitadi and
Dadeldhura districts as well.
In Baitadi, more than 34 people
died last year while crossing
the river. Although the district
people of the hilly districts
bordering India depend on the
Indian market for most of their
necessities and so they have to
regularly travel to the nearby
Indian towns by crossing the
Mahakali River.
Since Mahakali is a border river, India's permission is
required for constructing
bridges over the river. Nepali
Congress Baitadi district
president Narendra Bista says
the government should take the
initiatives for constructing
bridges over the Mahakali River
at major transit points through
diplomatic channels.
(Posted on 30th June)
No attention on dilapidated
floodgates
Floodgates at the Saptakoshi
barrage cannot control floods
these days, due to the lack of
timely maintenance. These
floodgates 56 in all were built
to regulate the flow of water
and used to be operated through
a control room.
“With the increase in water
level, we used to press a switch
at the control room to open the
gates,” says Raju Bhagat, a
control room employee. “These
days, we cannot operate even a
single gate that way,” says
Bhagat, meaning employees have
to risk their lives to open the
gates during floods.
The employees have to climb on
top of the gates to open them.
“But it may not always be
practical. How can we open the
gates during stormy weather?”
another employee questions on
condition of anonymity.
The Koshi Agreement has it that
India must maintain the
floodgates and the bridge across
the Koshi, but Indian
authorities havenot bothered to
do the repair work for long. “We
cannot repair the dilapidated
infrastructure on our own. I am
tired of requesting higher
authorities for maintenance,”
says Bhagat.
In another separate program, the
cabinet on 24th June decided to
provide Rs. one million as
compensation to the families of
13 soldiers of Nepal Army who
died while containing the forest
fire in Srikhandanda, Ramechhap,
on April 23.
(Posted on 30th June)
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