Nepal India Koshi-Gandak irrigation meeting next week

KATHMANDU, Nov. 23: The Government is to raise with priority the issue of Gandak dam in the seventh meeting on the Koshi and Gandak Irrigation Project of the high-ranking officials of Nepal and India to be held next week.



Matters relating to the washing away of land and damage caused to arable land by the Koshi and Gandak rivers, measures to prevent it, flood control, compensation and others will be discussed at the joint meeting to be held on November 27 and 28, according to Deputy Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Shiva Kumar Sharma.[break]



Reconstruction and renovation of damaged structures, resolution of the problem of floods caused by the two rivers, management of the project office and dealing with the difficulties faced in course of enforcement of the project are also scheduled to be discussed at the meeting.



´Our focus will be more on resolving the Gandak problem rather than that of Koshi´, Sharma said while referring to the challenging task of renovating the Gandak dam damaged by floods in September.



More than 100,000 people will be displaced while Narsahi, Paklihawa, Guthi Parsauni, Guthi Suryapura, Bedauli, Thulo Khairatawa, Ramapurwa, Somani, Rampur Khadauna, Kudia and Pratappur VDCs of Nawalparasi are likely to be submerged if the dam is not renovated before coming monsoon, it is stated.



According to the Gandak agreement reached between Nepal and India in 1959, the flood control, renovation and reforms that fall under the Gandak canal barrage, dam and related areas are the responsibility of the India side.



Likewise, the Indian side is expected to raise issues relating to facilitation of the import of construction material and transportation procedures, structural measures and unmanaged settlements in the project enforcement area, Deputy Director General Sharma said.



The Indian side is being led by the Chief of the Department of Water Resources of Bihar, India, Afjal Amanullah. The nine-member delegation is expected to arrive to Kathmandu on Monday, according to Spokesperson of the Indian Embassy, Piyush Srivastava.



The meeting is held annually and alternately in Nepal and India. The seventh meeting would also review the progress of the meeting held last year in Rajgir city of Bihar, India.



Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Khom Raj Nepal is leading the Nepali delegation including officials of the Ministries of Irrigation, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Home, and representatives of the Water and Power Commission, among others.

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