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Kathmandu,Friday January 21, 2000 Magh 07th, 2056.
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Rapti training
'disastrous'
-By Yagya Bikram Shahi
NEPALGUNJ, Jan 20 - The construction of
Laxmanpur barrage and afflux bund on Rapti river near Nepal-India border is going to
submerge thousands of bighas of arable land and dozens of villages, say experts.
Nepali experts say the construction of
22-kilometre long afflux bund in the south of Laxmanpur barrage will stop the flow of
Rapti river which will in turn overflow and inundate the villages.
Experts claim atleast nine VDCs in Nepal
will be submerged because of India’s speculation that the water will rise by 8.6
kilometres after the construction of the barrage. The Indian VDCs have already begun
resettling people from 52 villages that are expected to be affected by the 2-5 metre high
bund.
Indian side who maintain that the bund will
not affect Nepal are constructing it at the breakneck speed.
MPs from the region, Gyanu K.C from Banke-1
and Sushil Koirala from Banke-2, who went for inspection of the site, have said they will
demand that the government pressurise India to stop the construction.
“India, which protested when we tried
to construct a canal on Sikta, is constructing a barrage on war footing by neglecting
Nepal’s sovereignty. That is very unbecoming of a good neighbour,” said Koirala.
A Standing Committee on Inundation between
Nepal and India (SCINI) has been formed to study the implications of the barrage and
submit a concrete solution, said an Nepali expert who is in the committee.
The committee’s meeting that was held
through November 1-5, had decided to finish the work last month but the deadline has been
postponed by two months because of the delay due to various factors.
Rishi Ram Sharma, Divisional Engineer at
the District Irrigation Office, Banke, said Nepalis will definitely be affected by the
barrage “but the exact figure can be determined only after the survey.”
The projects which was implemented since
1981, was included in the list of the problems to be discussed by SCINI. The SCINI had
taken a similar decision in 1991 on the impact of afflux bund.
India has brought the water from Ghagra
(Karnali in Nepal) to Sarju (Babai in Nepal) through a canal and is planning to bring the
water to Rapti. According to sources, India intends to take the water to Gorakhpur for
irrigation through a 180-kilometre canal.
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