Flood menace

Flooding across the country in the past 8-10 days has already directly or indirectly claimed about a dozen lives while displacing thousands of others. In Morang district alone, approximately 5,000 people have already been reportedly displaced. But, unfortunately, perhaps because the government of the day is so fixated on politics, there have been no noticeable efforts from its part to minimize its impacts or render help to the affected. Surely, on the excuse that the incumbent government is just a stop-gap arrangement, it cannot run away from putting its best foot forward to protect its people.



Certainly, there is nothing that we can do to stop incessant downpours. But, what we can surely do is remain prepared to respond to it and counter its negative impacts. That is exactly why the Government of Nepal established the Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP) under the Ministry of Water Resources in 2000. However, looking at what has been unfolding this monsoon, it seems that even a decade since its establishment, DWIDP still has a long way to go before it is able to make a mark for itself.



The other worrying news coming from the districts, but which is yet to be independently verified, is that Nepalis are facing risks of floods because of India’s refusal to lift the gates of a couple of its dams despite the water level reaching dangerous levels. For example, according to our district correspondent, nearly 6,000 people in Nepal face the risk of floods with the Rapti River swelling up and India not lifting the gates of Laxmanpur dam. Similarly, there are also reports that locals of Rajapur area of Bardiya district face risks because the Karnali River changed its course after India closed Kailashpur barrage on its soil and returned the water toward Nepal last September. This is something that the government needs to study and if the matter is indeed serious, they need to request India to do the needful to protect the lives and properties of the people in these areas.



Though the damage has already been done, our government can make its presence felt by helping the affected people by providing food, clothing and temporary shelter. Additionally, it also needs to make sure that people do not succumb to death because of the lack of medical supplies. Further, it needs to ascertain that when we face a similar situation next time, we are better prepared to handle it.

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