The Rising Nepal
By Abinash Chaudhary
Dhangadhi, Sept. 19: About 6,000 families in Dhangadhi have been displaced by the floods of the Kailali River on Saturday.
The district administration office informed that some of the displaced persons are living on the roof of their relatives who have concrete houses, and some are taking shelter on postal highways, roads, school buildings and safe buildings.
Shivraj Joshi, information officer of the district administration office, informed that there is still no environment for the displaced people to return home easily as the flood water has not receded from the house.
According to the raw statistics, about 5,000 to 6,000 families of Bhajani Municipality, 80 to 90 families of Tikapur Municipality and 70 to 80 families of Janaki Rural Municipality have been displaced, Joshi informed.
Similarly, around 400 families have been displaced in Joshipur Rural Municipality. Likewise, nearly 200 homes in Kailari Rural Municipality have been submerged under the water, the district administration office said.
According to Joshi, there is also a problem in distributing relief through the one-door system due to the lack of accurate statistics of the displaced. “Relief has not been distributed because the data is not certain yet,” he said.
Bhajani’s victims waiting for rescue
Out of the 58,000 total population in Bhajani Municipality, around 40,000 people have been affected by the flood.
Bikram Chaudhary, spokesperson of Bhajani Municipality and Chairman of Ward No. 3, informed that more than 5,000 families have been displaced and have come to the streets. Many of them have not been rescued yet, he informed.
“Many people are still living in their dilapidated homes. They have not been rescued,” he said. “We requested the provincial government and the district administration office for rescue by helicopter. However, there was no hearing.”
Chaudhary said that those waiting for rescue have been sitting in the house since Saturday. Relief has not been distributed to anyone as everyone is working on the rescue work. “Still, many people have not been rescued, so we have prioritized rescue first to be followed by relief,” he added.
However, the District Administration Office said that almost all those trapped in the flood have been rescued.
Similarly, Thengarpur village in Bhajani Municipality-1 has been turned into debris. Chaudhary said the village of 100 households has been turned into debris by the flooding of the Kandra River. “There is nothing left of 40 to 45 houses,” he said, “everything was taken away by the flood.”
Meanwhile, it is said that a team including the Chief District Officer will visit the most affected Bhajani Municipality to understand the situation of the flood victims. In addition, the district administration office has informed the district disaster management committee meeting will be held on Sunday and the relief and recovery programme for the affected people will be carried forward through a one-door system. According to Joshi, relief will be given to the affected households through a one-door system with the coordination of the local level, the provincial government and the district disaster management committee.
On Saturday, floods in Mohana, Kandra, Karnali, Pathraiya, Kataini and other rivers created havoc in Kailali.
Navina Chaudhary, 20, of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-13 died, while Kaluram Chaudhary, 55, of Bhajani Municipality-8, Gorchaura went missing in the flood.
Meanwhile, Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sher Bahadur Kunwar inspected the landslide-affected areas on Sunday.
Minister Kunwar also visited the relatives of the deceased and injured people in Nada of Turmakhand Rural Municipality-5, Veerpath of Kamalbazaar Municipality-6 and Dungala of Ward No. 8.
During the inspection, Minister Kunwar also provided Rs. 10,000 per person to the relatives of the deceased. During the meeting with the victims, Minister Kunwar said that the government would provide food and other support to the victims.
Along with Minister Kunwar, a team including the Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Planning of Sudhurpashim Province Bal Bahadur Sodari and Chief District Officer Bishwaraj Maraseni also inspected the affected areas.
Province govt announces relief
Meanwhile, Sudurpaschim Province Government has announced that relief will be given to the families affected by the Achham landslide soon.
At least 22 people from Turmakhad, Dhakari Rural Municipalities and Kamal Bazar Municipality died and some went missing in the landslide.
Minister of Internal Affairs and Law Dr. Ran Bahadur Rawal expressed his grief over the incident.
