JAJARKOT, Aug 18: Flood triggered by continuous rainfall has swept away bridges in various parts of Nalgad Municipality of Jajarkot district depriving a large number of students from attending schools.
A massive flood of Wednesday, which inundated hundreds of houses and fields, swept away two concrete bridges and four wooden bridges in Nalgad-3, 4, 5 and 6. This has forced around 400 students of six different schools of the municipality to miss their schools, according to Mayor Tek Bahadur Rawal.
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As immediate construction of bridge is not possible, the municipality is planning to keep some wooden logs over the river to help people cross the river.
However, that too is not possible now, says Mayor Rawal. The students of Tribhuvan Secondary School, Dalli; Suryodaya Secondary School, Kaina; Janata Primary School, Pipalchaur; Janakalyan Basic School, Serakhet; Juniwal Conservation Secondary School, Sirke; Tribhuvan Primary School and Creative Boarding School of Dalli have been prevented from going to school.
"I don't know when we will be able to go to school now," said Sudam Prakash Gautam, a tenth grader of Tribhuvan Secondary School, adding, "Missing our course can make it difficult for us to catch up later."
Since the last three days, Binita Pun of Janakalyan Basic School, Serakhet, is obliged to skip her classes. The bridge was the only option for her to reach her school and there is no alternative route. Concerned about their children's safety, parents do not want to risk sending their children to school by crossing swollen rivers.
Meanwhile, around 100 households have been compelled to drink river water after eight drinking water sources of Nalgad-3 were swept away by landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. The flood originated from Kaina, Jhupra and Hamka rivers washed a large number of houses, fields, huts and bridges, creating panic among the locals.
As locals have been relying on contaminated river water, there is a fear of epidemic. Flood has created huge loss in Nalgad by damaging property worth millions. But people lament that the government has been turning a blind eye to their miseries.
