Govt drastically failed in handling Koshi tragedy: TMLP chief Thakur
Terai-Madhesh Loktantric Party (TMLP) chief Mahanta Thakur has said that the government has drastically failed in what he called as "Koshi diplomacy".
Thakur also flayed the government for not being able to provide succor to people affected by flooding that occurred after the Saptakoshi river burst its dams, affecting hundreds of thousands in Nepal and more than 2 million people in neighboring Bihar state in India in one way or the other.
"The government has failed to distribute relief materials in a proper and organized manner," claimed Thakur in a programme organized at the party's central office in Kathmandu.
He further said that the events that transpired after the Koshi flooding has shown that the government has failed in the diplomatic front too, apparently referring to the blame-game that is going on between authorities in Nepal and India over the tragedy.
Thakur also claimed that the people were seen more active in garnering relief materials for victims of Saptakoshi flooding than the government.
Saying that the governments of both countries should focus their attention on providing relief to those affected by the floods at the earliest and reconstruct the damaged spur, Thakur said, "Instead, the authorities of the two countries are engaged in a blame game."
Another TMLP leader Hridayesh Tripathi said that few spurs of Narayani river are also in a very perilous state and warned of "second Koshi" disaster if attention is not paid to repairing it while there is still time.
Tripathi said that he has drawn the attention of the government and the Indian embassy also about the dilapidated condition of spurs.
The avowal by the two Madhesi leaders comes amidst warning by top officials and experts of the looming danger of further flooding in the days to come. They have urged authorities to activate early warning system in view of the looming danger in the month of October, as past records say that Koshi has turned more violent during this month.
Meanwhile, the government is planning to invite the World Bank (WB) as an independent panel of experts to assess losses incurred due to Koshi river flooding, to redesign the Koshi project and also for bilateral negotiation, among other tasks, the Kathmandu Post reported Friday.
The paper quoted Shankar Prasad Koirala, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) as saying that WB is positive about the proposal. nepalnews.com ag Sep 05 08
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