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Koshi flood displaces 35,000 people, three feared dead, 12 missing

More than 35,000 people who have been displaced after the Saptakoshi river damaged dams in Western Kusaha region of Sunsari district on Monday are now taking shelter in local schools in the area.

Local authorities say that the displaced have been put up at 12 government-run schools, government offices and private homes in Inaruwa, the district headquarter of Sunsari.

Dev Narayan Yadav of the Koshi Pidit Samak, an organization of people victimized by the annual floods in Koshi river, said that the displaced, many of whom are in a very bad-condition, are in desperate need of food, shelter and medicines.

A team of Nepal Army personnel and police force are continually engaged in rescue efforts along with distributing relief materials in the affected areas. They are said to be getting help from the locals in this matter.

As the swollen river started to erode the dams and inundate the nearby villages, tens of thousands of local people had started to flee their homes for safety from Monday night.

The raging river completely swept away more than 3,000 houses and destroyed huge tracts of paddy fields.

Reports just coming in say that 3 people have died of drowning in the swollen river and more than 12 people are feared to be missing. However, police said that they only have information about the missing people.

A section of East-West highway in Laukahi area has also been obstructed due to the flood, adversely affecting rescue efforts and transportation in the region. Hundreds of passengers traveling to far eastern Nepal have been stranded because of this as their buses remained park at the other end of the Koshi barrage.

The swollen river water has also damaged the optical fibre of Nepal Telecom in the district, because of which the mobile phone services in eastern Nepal has also been disrupted. According to Nepal Telecom, this has affected more than one hundred thousand mobile phone users in the region. NT officials said that the mobile service would only resume after repairs are carried on the damaged optical fibre and said that this is not possible until the river water recedes

Reports said Laukahi, Kusaha, Ghuski, Sripur, Haripur and Basantapur VDCs have been the most affected

The flood has affected the buffer region of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. An army battalion located there for its safety, too, had to shift to safety.

Local people have accused the authorities of not acting on time to avert the disaster.

Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, Khomraj Dahal, director general of Water Induced Disaster Prevention Department, told Kantipur that the disaster occurred due to lack of repair and maintenance of barrage. As per the Koshi agreement, India is responsible for operation and maintenance of the barrage.

In another report, Sharad Yadav, leader of the Indian delegation currently in Nepal, said that Prime Minister Dahal has informed them about the inundation in Sunsari district caused by Koshi dam. He said both Nepal and India could solve the problem through proper management of the water in Koshi River while assuring he would raise this issue in the Indian parliament. nepalnews.com sd/ag Aug 19 08