NATIONAL10 (Spotlight Weelky)]

Dam It

A year after triggering a row by constructing the Laxmanpur afflux bond, India does a replay at Marchabar

By A CORRESPONDENT

Just across the Indo-Nepal border in Marchabar area of Rupandehi district, India is busy constructing Rasiyabal Khurda Loutan Dam, supposedly to check the havoc the rivers Danav and Danda wreak on Indian villages in the vicinity during the monsoon.

However, the construction of the dam is going to have a serious impact on the Nepalese side, according to experts. They claim that the dam would result in inundation of several villages in Rupandehi district. It could even affect the Lumbini area, they say.

Last year, the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) - a panel formed to look after the problems of inundation along the Indo-Nepal border - had decided that the construction of the dam would follow a detailed study by the joint team. But the Indian side seems bent on having its way. During last year's monsoon, the construction of Laxmanpur afflux bond had led to inundation of several villages in Banke district in Nepal.

The Indian side, early this year, had proposed at the JSC meeting the construction of dam at least eight kilometers away from the border. However, the construction is taking place well within that limit. According to international norms, such dams cannot be constructed within eight kilometers of national border. But the Rasiyabal Dam is being constructed just 200 meters across the border.

According to Ramesh Man Tuladhar, the chief of the Rupandehi District Irrigation office, the construction of the dam near Marchabar area could lead to widespread destruction on the Nepalese side. Talking to a vernacular daily, Tuladhar said, "We tried to contact them (Indian officials) repeatedly, but in vain. In fact, they went on constructing the dam."

The Indian authorities had started the construction of the dam five months ago under the pretext of building roads. The Indian side claims that the two rivers inundate 85 Indian villages of Maharajgunj and Siddharthanagar districts.

The Nepalese side, on the other hand, claims that if the dam is constructed, 200 villages covering 2100 bighas of land in 18 Village Development Committees of Rupandehi district will be inundated, affecting 100,000 people.

Although local government officials claim they briefed the concerned agencies about the problem in Marchabar area, the government is yet to make its stand public on the issue.

Meanwhile, a team of the youth wing of the main opposition Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), Democratic National Youth Federation (DNYF), completed a field study of the area. The delegation had 45 members including members of parliament, youth activists and journalists.

Member of Parliament Gokarna Bista led the delegation. Upon his return, Bista said he would raise a strong voice against the dam, which could not only affect Nepalese villages but also inundate the Lumbini area, the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha.

Many think that the problem cannot be resolved at the local level. The Nepalese government ought to take up the issue with its Indian counterpart at a higher level, they say. However, as the government at the center seems busy in politicking, the important issue of inundation could once again be sidelined.

School Shutdown

Once again, radical leftist students affiliated to the Maoists ordered the closure of more than 34,000 public and private schools across the country on July 20. This time the reason was lower allocation for the education sector in the budget for this fiscal year. The budget for fiscal 2001/2002 has allocated 13.96 percent of total government expenditure on education. The radical students claim the amount is not enough. In the runup to the school strike, the students representing the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU-Revolutionary), as usual, was involved in terror tactics. They damaged vehicles of a few private schools and manhandled some principals on the eve of the strike. To months ago, the student organization had shut down schools for a whole week.