The 51-meter embankment built as part of the People´s Embankment Program was breached by the river just three days after its construction was completed during the second week of August. The river has now entered 500 meters into Dunga village in Shankarpur-7 putting another 110 families under the threat of floods. [break]
The displaced families are currently taking shelter at a community forest in Dekhatbhooli-1, Chandeu. The locals have blamed massive corruption and use of substandard for the breach of the embankment.
Secretary of the consumers´ committee Shankar Singh Khatri, who was involved in the construction of the embankment, accused president of the committee Diwakar Bhatta and Treasurer Balaram Mahata of embezzlement.
Khatri also blamed engineer of the People´s Embankment Program Ghanashyam Karki and overseer Mohan Dev Bhatta of misappropriating Rs 333,000.
Locals claimed the technician duo had demanded 20 percent commission on Rs 2,641,000 allocated by the program for the construction. Two spurs and 39 wire mesh with boulders were constructed to contain the floods.
However, Mahata refused to comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, the local administration has started to construct temporary barriers to control Mahakali river in Bhujela of Bhimdutta-11 following instructions from Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire who visited the place on Wednesday.
Likewise, 14 families of Lama Bagar and Barang villages in Dolakha have been displaced due to landslides following incessant rainfall, according to our correspondent Ramesh Khatiwada.
Samundra Poudel reports from Tanahu that three families in Vyas-11 Darepdhara have been displaced by landslides while another half a dozen are under threat.
Meanwhile, a siren has been installed at the Babai Barrage in Parewa Odar to sound a warning alarm if the water level rises above six meters, according to our Bardiya correspondent Nirmal Ghimire.
“It will sound an alarm to the security agencies and locals about probable danger,” said employee at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Mohan Jaishi. The river has been eroding over 100 bigahas of land every year.
Similarly, more than 300 families have been deprived of drinking water after landslides swept away pipelines of Badagaun Drinking Water Project in Musikot, reports Tek Narayan Bhattarai from Palpa.
Meanwhile, Ramesh Kumar Poudel reports from Chitwan that there is scarcity of essential goods in the remote area of Madi due to floods. Vehicles have not been able to reach Madi for four days after the water level rose in the Riu river.
“We don´t even have salt,” complained a local trader Bhawani Poudel. There are around 165 shops in four VDCs in Madi region.
Likewise, the bridge over Budhi river in Itahari on the Sunsari-Morang border is also under threat, according to our Itahari correspondent Amar Khadka. The bridge has come under threat due to massive extraction of sand and pebbles to the north of the bridge.
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