Four wards at high risk as Karnali erosion continues

With the increasing water level in the Karnali River, the erosion of adjoining places has continued at Shahipur of Tikapur Municipality-5. The river is eroding the very place where the embankment is being constructed.

The locals here have been panicked after the river began cutting the embankment created by Rani Jamara-Kulariya irrigation project. They have demanded immediate control measures to prevent further erosion. The people from wards no 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be directly affected if the erosion continues.

The irrigation project had constructed the embankment at Shahipur area six years back. After it was breached last year, the project, municipality, armed police force and local people had jointly created a new embankment adopting the bioengineering method. The levee with 11-meter width was left only two meters last year.

The project has however issued a tender notice to construct an embankment for this year too. “After the river erosion, the technical teams of the project inspected the area. If the local level provides some assistance, it would be helpful to save the nearby settlements,” said ward no 5 chairmen Ramshankar Dagaura Tharu. The river is likely to enter the nearby settlements with continuous erosion of adjoining land. It will also damage a thousand of hectares of arable land. The loss will be incalculable, he added.

The ward chairman further said he had informed the concerned offices about the river erosion. Some days back, the meeting of the municipality disaster committee had decided to build a levee on the bioengineering method.

Mayor Tapendra Bahadur Rawal said the embankment was damaged every year because the river changed its course. “We need to focus on sustainability of physical infrastructures built as a levee. The structures made previous years are now swept away,” he reminded.

The Karnali river has also put in risk ward no 2, and Sri Lanka Sati bridge of ward no 8.