SINDHUPALCHOWK, Mar 4 : In August last year, a massive landslide hit Jure of Magma VDC in Sindhupalchowk killing 157 people of three different villages.
The landslide struck in the wee hours of August 2, swept down homes on the hillsides and deposited debris in the Sunkoshi River at Jure, Sindhupalchowk, creating a deep artificial lake measuring 3.1 kilometers upstream.DHRUBA DANGAL
SINDHUPALCHOWK, Mar 4 : In August last year, a massive landslide hit Jure of Magma VDC in Sindhupalchowk killing 157 people of three different villages.
The landslide struck in the wee hours of August 2, swept down homes on the hillsides and deposited debris in the Sunkoshi River at Jure, Sindhupalchowk, creating a deep artificial lake measuring 3.1 kilometers upstream.
Though seven months have elapsed since the tragedy struck, effects of the disaster are still fresh in the mind of the locals.
Hundreds of locals including survivors displaced by the massive landslide are still waiting to be rehabilitated properly.
Large swaths of lands have been left barren due to the landslide. The debris deposited by the flood in Sunkoshi River can still be seen in the affected areas. The lake formed after the incident remains as it is.
With rainfall making a comeback, people in the landslide-hit areas are terrified of similar disaster.
But concerned authorities´ have failed to soothe the locals´ fear. According to them, the authorities are yet to take initiatives to release the water from the lake and prevent possible landslides.
The local stakeholders allege that the government agencies are turning a deaf ear toward the problem with the issue getting older.
Even a team of experts have already submitted a field report; the recommendations suggested in the report are yet to be implemented. The massive landslide that had once drawn the attention of the international community has yet to come in the priorities of the government. This has also created confusions among the authorities themselves.
"It is too late for the authorities to take even the preliminary steps for controlling possible landslides," said Mukesh Chandra Amatya, a geologist at the Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention. Amatya was frequently involved in different study teams to carry out investigation about Kanle landslide in Sindhupalchowk district.
Lake formed after the massive landslide in Jure VDC of Sindhupalchowk district last year. Government formed a five-member committee that studied the cause of the disaster and recommended a long-term solution. "We carried out a study and submitted the report to the government," said an expert who was part of the study team. "But the implementation of those findings has never made any progress."
"No plans have yet been formulated for both landslide control and release of water from the artificial lake," Amatya, a senior hydrologist, said.
Soon after the disaster, the government had formed a five-member expert committee to study cause for the recent disaster in Sindhupalchowk and come up with measures that could become a long-term solution.
The team led by Binod Kumar Jha, an engineer at the Department of Irrigation, had consisted of geologists Dr Meghraj Dhital, Narayan Baskota, Mukesh Chandra Amatya and Shree Kamal Dwibedi.
After a month-long investigation, the team of experts had submitted the government their findings along with short-term and long-term measures to be taken for landslide control.
"We carried out a study and submitted it to the government," said Amatya. "But the implementation of those findings has never made any progress."
According to him, the department had proposed a budget of Rs 102 millions for controlling landslides.
"The proposal is yet to be approved. Had the government released the budget, at least the preliminary works could have begun," said Amatya. "The affected locals did not have to live with fear."
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