Wreaking Havoc
The solution of perennial inundation of Nepal’s plain land in south lies on how well natural drainage systems are made functional like in the past. With the construction of infrastructures like roads, and irrigation canals inside Nepal and construction of embankments, barrage and irrigation canals across border in Indian territory, Nepal’s southern plain Terai has turned into a pond accumulating monsoon rain waters - damaging properties worth billions of rupees and making the people homeless. The floods and landslides have already killed more than 75 people this year apart from displacing nearly100,000 people. As long as Nepal and India, close neighbors with geographical proximity, do not share each others’ tragedy, water inundation across terai is going to be a way of life. Allocating budget to distribute temporary relief to the victims and compensation for the families suffering from the flood cannot end this tragic disaster
By KESHAB POUDEL
As soon as the rainy season begins, people living in southern parts of Banke district have sleepless night. Whenever there is heavy rain, people have to come out from their homes carrying necessary foodstuffs and searching for safer place.
As the water level increases up to four to five feet, there are hardly such places in remote parts of terai. Even water entered into school buildings.
With the construction of Laxmanpur Barrage and canal across the border in Indian Territory, residents of Southern Banke don’t have other options other than to helplessly see their villages turn into a lake with the onset of monsoon. For the last six years, water inundation continued to make their lives miserable.
“Our villages are not safe during monsoon as the embankment and dam constituted to protect canal and people of other sides in Indian Territory is transforming our villages into a lake,” said Reshma Kurmi, 45, of Bethana Village Development Committee of Banke district, 500 miles west of capital Kathmandu. “We have lost everything including our huts and food stuffs stored in the houses.”
Although the officials from both the sides meet on a number of occasions to resolve the crises of inundation of Nepalese land, nothing has changed much. “We cannot do anything to prevent submerging of land as long as India does not agree to open the gates of barrage and embankments constructed on their territory,” said a senior official at the Ministry of Water Resources. “We have held several rounds of meeting with India’s central authorities and authorities of states but nothing has come out.”
For nearly one half of Nepal’s population living in southern plains, flood has become a regular feature of their life. Flood in terai used to be occasional phenomenon in the past. But for last six years frequency of water inundation has substantially increased.
”The embankment constructed by India on its side of border is responsible for submerging large areas of land in Terai. It is a failure of the government to raise this fundamental issue with India. If Nepal’s land continues to be submerged every year, there is a need to destroy barrages like Laxmanpur, otherwise tens of thousands of Nepalese will have to suffer,” said Narayan Man Bijukchhe, leader of Nepal Peasant and Worker Party in parliament. “When people living in southern parts of terai are living under a threat of death, why this government is not taking these major issues with India is a mystery,” he said.
Along with Bijukchhe, CPN-Maoist MPs also raised the question of inundation in the parliament. “Nepalese government must raise the issue of water inundation and construction of embankment and dams in Indian territory close to our border,” said CPN-Maoist MP Shanta Shrestha, at the legislative parliament.
Along with embankments constructed on the Indian Territory, the rampant construction of houses and other infrastructures like roads, and canals in Nepalese side is also blocking the natural flow of water. Obstruction created by man made infrastructures is curbing the natural drainage leading to inundation.
Water Inundation
Everywhere
Not only in Banke, water inundation has been causing major problems in 18 districts in Terai. According to Kantipur Daily, the Danda dam and embankment constructed in the Indian Territory close to Nepal border inundated more than a dozen of villages in Nepalese side. The embankment constructed in Indian Territory close to border has already created obstruction on drainage of water causing inundation.
Nepalgunj has been one of the worst affected regions. The city was waterlogged and flood waters had rushed inside homes. Educational institutions, factories, government offices, schools and markets were closed down.
According to Natural Disaster Management Section of Home Ministry, among the municipalities, Nepalgunj was worst affected with four to five feet of water. Siraha district, too, was affected with 6000 houses collapsed and 10,000 families displaced. Similarly, Mahottari also faced severe damage with 36 VDCs flooded, 5000 houses collapsed and 13000 families displaced. Twenty two villages in Banke flooded with 500 houses collapsed and 600 families displaced. In Bardiya, 18 VDCs flooded with 818 houses collapsed and 2300 families displaced. Dhanusha’s 60 VDCs were flooded with 3500 houses collapsed and 5200 families displaced.
The flood also affected 21 VDCs of Sunsari, 36 VDCs of Saptari and 40 of Sarlahi district. Likewise, 40 VDCs of Rautahat, 40 of Bara, 17 of Parsa, 12 of Nawalparasi, 12 of Kapilvastu, 12 of Kailalli and 30 of Rupandehi districts were also affected.
In Rupandehi district, most affected area is Marchwar where more than four dozen village development committees are submerged. According to Ministry of Home Affairs, thousand of houses remain water logged in most districts of Terai.
Submerging the Land
Most of the badly affected areas are in eastern, central and mid western region. In his article in Spotlight (September 15-21.2006), water resource expert Dr. A.B. Thapa wrote, “At present the natural drainage of the western terai is blocked by a network of canal system which have been built just across the border in Indian Territory.” According to Thapa, the canal system running almost parallel to our border starts from the Lower Sarda Barrage in the west and ends up in the Bangnaga (Rohini) River. The total length of this canal system is 258 KM. There are five barrages along this canal system in Indian Territory. They are lower Sarda, Karnali at Girjapur, Saryu (Babai) barrage, West Rapti Barrage (Laxmanpur) and Rohini (Banganga) Barrage.
“It would be necessary to maintain all the time pond water upstream of the barrage above certain fixed level to keep the Saryu canal running at desired capacity. Thus the pond would always be full; with the result a sizeable area of lands in Nepalese territory could remain perpetually submerged. When the rivers are in flood, the water would be spreading out into the lands that were never before regarded prone to flooding,” he wrote.
“The Saryu canal is expected to cross innumerable small rivers and drains on its way. Embankments and dikes are needed to train these drains and small rivers for the protection of the Saryu canal. These river training structures could also result in widespread flooding inside Nepal where the canal route is close to the border,” he stated.
According to a study conducted by the Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP), the climate and rainfall pattern of Nepal combined with the steep topography accounts for the great variability in water availability in time and space. There are more than 6000 rivers in Nepal with a total length exceeding 45,000 kilometers. About 80 percent of the total precipitation falls during the summer monsoon period (June to September) and about 15 percent during the post monsoon (October) and pre-monsoon.
DWIDP’s studies also showed that along with embankments and barrage in the Indian Territory, water logging and over-irrigation in Terai without proper maintenance and drainage facilities have affected agricultural lands in Terai as have the construction of inadequate capacity cross-drainage structures in roads, canals and embankments. Cross-border inundation due to the unilateral heightening of existing weirs and construction of embankments across the border has caused adversities to the people residing near the border areas in the south of the country.
In Nepal, increasing population pressure, encroachment upon marginal lands for subsistence, farming on high slopes, deforestation, over-grazing and unsustainable extraction of bio-mass for energy in the rural areas are blamed as the human induced factors leading to land degradation and natural resource depletion as well as increased risk of disasters. Other malpractices include indiscriminate quarrying of stones, river bed mining for sand and poor engineering design and alignment of roads, canals etc.
Paltry Relief
The government has decided to release Rs 50 million as immediate relief to the victims of natural disaster in the country. The Home Ministry has also decided to increase the immediate compensation amount to relatives of those who have died in disasters to Rs 25,000 from Rs 15,000.
As flood triggered by torrential monsoon rainfall has continued to strike the southern plains from east to west across the country, according to reports around 200,000 people of 16,000 families have been displaced in different parts of the country.
If the flood of small streams can wreak such havoc in the lives of common people, the flash floods in country’s major rivers are definite to bring a lot of devastation in the country.
The solution for the floods in terai is not traditional approach of rescue and rehabilitation. By geography and nature, Nepal and India have many things inseparable including the nature. The rain in Nepal originates from Bay of Bengal and comes from the sky. Once it outbursts, it needs drainage to go back again in a cycle through the land. What Nepal requires now is to start meaningful dialogue with Indian officialdom to strike long-term resolution of this problem.
As long as Nepal and India do not see flood as their common problem, people living in Nepalese side of border will have to go through sleepless nights but the people living in Indian Territory, too, are not permanently safe by depending on such constructions. What Nepal and India require is understanding about their geographical proximity and the formation of land.
