RAJBIRAJ, Jan 24: Water is hardly seen in Khado River except during the monsoon. During rainy days, it swells and floods wreak havoc in the nearby villages time and again. The river flows through several parts of Saptari district in Nepal, and it also touches villages of Bihar, India. It is the responsibility of the authorities of both the countries to free people of the fears of floods and ensure their safety. Locals say, ‘nobody’ is however concerned over their plights.
“The source of Khado River is the Chure range. It is also known as the sub-river of the Koshi River. In the monsoon, it swells, or else, it’s dry,” said Dineshwar Mishra, chair of Koiladi Rural Municipality. “It flows through several villages of Nepal and India and the no man’s land. The authorities of the two nations have not been able to address the issue of flooding,” he added.
Mishra stated that embankments, roads and even graveyards in the Indian soil have obstructed the natural flow of the river. And this has put Nepali villages under the risk of flooding.
Floods inundate villages in Saptari, over 500 families affected...
“The river has been blocked almost for eight years now. The infrastructures have been illegally made by the Indian side and the natural flow of the river has been disturbed,” he alleged.
During rainy days, Tilathi village is the hardest hit. Around six other villages get affected every year.
“Even though the locals tried to draw the attention of the government over the issue of flood, they were never heard. But later, when some Indian lands also got affected, there was some buzz about it,” said Mishra. “Since the last two years, some talks have been held,” he added.
People in the villages of Nepal have demanded re-channelizing of the river. As yet another monsoon is underway, they have asked the government ‘to do something’ before it is too late yet again.
According to a local of Koiladi Rural Municipality, Kripananda Jha, though the officials of Nepal and India have done survey of the region, they have not taken any substantial steps to mitigate the risk of floods. “Since the last two years, they have tried to come to some terms of understanding regarding the issue; the officials have met for this, done joint surveys. But the results have not been seen,” Jha said.
