Some villages of Shuklaphanta Municipality-12 in Kanchanpur district (Tilaki, Chandapur, Duwaha, Ekantakuna, Shantitole and Jaijala in particular) are vulnerable to flooding.
These settlements have been hit hard in the disaster every year, resulting in the loss of lives and property.
Flooding one month ago caused a big loss in the area while over two dozen people were displaced. Crops in 20 bighas of lands were destroyed. Five bighas of land have turned into wasteland due to the flooding. Similarly, a suspension bridge over the Banhara river was swept away. As a result, local people have to risk their lives crossing the river during monsoon. A makeshift bridge has been constructed in the area which is usable only during winter.
Every year, dozens of families were displaced by flooding in the Doda and Banhara rivers. Repeated requests to the authorities to do the needful have remained unheard so far, complained local Ram Bahadur Dagaura.
The people at risk of flooding are desperately waiting for the November 20 election contestants to share their problems and get them resolved. They have made up their mind that they would vote for only those who would genuinely hear and do the needful to resolve their problems.
“We are prone to flooding every year without strong embankments in the river. We will vote for the contestants who have come up with a master plan to construct embankments in the river,” he said.
Laxman Rana, another local, said: “We don’t need cash or relief. We only need construction of embankments. We are looking for candidates who can guarantee this. We will not give vote to the candidates who only talk but don’t walk the talk in constructing the embankment.”
The flood-affected families have put a banner right across the road leading to Tilaki village. The banner reads- “Candidates not committing to construction of embankment are prohibited.” The flood victim families have formed a struggle committee and put forth demand calling for construction of embankment.
“Bridge, culverts, roads and drinking water structures are not in priority. Only the construction of embankment to protect our homes, farmlands, and our life and property from ravaging flooding is the priority. We have demanded this,” reiterated Dhurka Rana.
The members of the struggle committee rued, “It is not that we had not demanded construction of embankment with the candidates asking for votes in the previous election. All pledged to construct the embankment. Those who lost in the election did not return to our settlement, but even those who had won did not care to construct the structures.”
So, according to them, this time they have put up the banner to make the election candidates aware of their primary demand.
As said by the locals, settlements started to be developed in all the six villages 59 years back in 2020 BS. So far 95 families have been displaced from these settlements due to flood and have migrated to other places.
“We are always worried during the monsoon, fearing for our life and property any time. The only nearby safest area around here is the Lalajhadi forest,” Said Jayaram Rana, adding that there was no option other than to move to the Laljhadi forest and build homes there if measures are not taken to protect the settlements from flood and erosion.
Although the locals have been demanding construction of embankment and other river training measures since long, it has gone unheard ever since.
Rajendra Prasad Paneru/RSS
